The 

Essentials  of  Argumentation 


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BOOK     168. MI5    c.  1 
MACEWAN    #    ESSENTIALS    OF 
ARGUMENTATION 


3  T1S3  DD0DS13fl  5 


Thi; 


THE   ESSENTIALS   OF  TH^ 


ARGUMENTATION 


BY 


ELIAS   J.   MacEWAN,   M.  A. 


BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 
D.  C.  HEATH    &   CO.,  PUBLISHERS 

1898 


fe 


Copyright,  1898. 
By  ELIAS  J.  MacEWAN. 


CotLl-^. 


The  Heintzemann  Press  Boston 


PREFACE. 

No  apology  is  offered  for  the  appearance  of  this  book. 
It  is  an  outgrowth  of  a  dozen  years'  experience  with 
classes  in  one  of  the  leading  Agricultural  Colleges  of 
the  country.  In  a  school  having  but  a  single  course  of 
study  for  the  first  two  years,  and  differing  the  last  two 
years  in  only  a  few  technical  subjects,  a  school  essen- 
tially scientific,  the  time  for  literary  work  was  neces- 
sarily limited.  That  kind  of  literary  trahiuig,  there- 
fore, had  to  be  provided,  which  was  most  helpful  to 
those  wlio,  m  spite  of  limited  preparation,  must  go  out 
to  become  leaders  of  their  class.  They  had  not  time  to 
study  all  the  niceties  of  literar}^  expression.  They 
could,  at  best,  master  only  the  elementary  principles  of 
rhetoric  and  make  themselves  familiar,  in  a  general 
way,  with  the  ordinary  forms  of  prose  composition. 
Their  work  as  scientists  required  proficiency  m  descrip- 
tion. Their  work  among  men  would  require  clear  and 
sound  reasonmg,  and  the  cogent  presentation  of  what 
they  would  want  others  to  accept  as  true.  This  was 
the  writer's  conviction  very  soon  after  beginning  his 
work  ui  this  department.  Acting  on  this  conviction  he 
made  the  last  two  years'  work  in  English  composi- 
tion, —  speeches,  essays,  discussions,  —  largely  argu- 
mentative.    The  effect  was  a  more  rapid  development 

iii 


IV  PEEFACE. 

of  the  students'  power  of  reflection,  as  well  as  greater 
facility  and  accuracy  of  expression ;  and  this  was  taken 
as  a  sufficient  indication  of  the  value  of  the  work  done. 
Few  complaints  were  heard  tliat  the  work  was  dry  or 
unprofitable,  or  that  such  "  rhetorical  exercises  "  were  a 
bore. 

The  writer  believes  that  the  students  with  whom  this 
plan  was  tried,  differ  little  in  essential  respects  from  the 
average  college  student.  In  this  belief  he  offers  the 
book  to  those  instructors  who  wish  to  do  more  extended 
and  thorough  work  in  argumentation  than  is  contem- 
plated m  the  common  manuals  of  rhetoric.  He  does 
not  claim  to  present  anything  new.  "  The  fundamental 
prmciples  of  the  art  of  conviction  and  persuasion  are 
the  same  to-day  as  in  the  time  of  Qumtilian,  but  the 
materials  with  which  the  art  deals  and  the  weapons 
in  its  armory  are  by  no  means  precisely  the  same.  Pul- 
pit eloquence,  for  instance,  could  not  be  practised  until 
there  were  pulpits  and  congregations  and  a  Christian 
faith.  Had  Massillon  preached  in  the  Coliseum  to  the 
Roman  Senate,  he  would  probably  not  have  moved  his 
audience  either  to  repentance  or  to  teai-s.  If  Antony 
were  to  endeavor  to-day  to  rouse  his  auditors  to  avenge 
the  assassination  of  Caesar,  he  would  need  to  remember 
that  they  had  all  read  '  extras '  givmg  full  details  of 
the  event.  For  these  reasons  formal  and  systematic 
works  on  rhetoric  need  to  be  supplemented  from  time 
to  time  by  manuals  designed  to  bring  forcibly  before  the 
mind  the  practical  questions  which  confront  the  speaker 
or  debater  of  to-day."  ^ 

Nothmg  more  than  this  is  attempted  here.     The  old 

1  The  Nation. 


PREFACE.  V 

principles  are  given  according  to  the  writer's  own  method, 
and  in  the  order  of  their  application  in  an  elaborate  dis- 
course. Examples  are  taken  from  any  source,  whether 
new  or  old,  affording  illustrations  which  illustrate.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  what  is  trite  with  the  present 
generation  of  instructors  is  new  to  each  generation  of 
students.  Passages  from  Webster  and  Burke,  studied 
merely  for  elocutionarj^  exercises  and  worn  threadbare 
as  declamations,  may  surprise  the  student  when  he 
studies  them  as  illustrations  of  types  of  argument,  or 
methods  of  conviction  and  persuasion.  The  same  prm- 
ciple  has  governed  the  choice  of  propositions  suggested 
for  practice  in  argumentation  or  debate.  The  old  and 
well  known  are  preferred.  They  are  themes  for  practice 
in  the  application  of  principles,  not  subjects  for  public 
entertainment.  Material  for  their  treatment  is  more 
easily  accessible  than  material  on  the  transient  topics 
of  the  da3\  Every  intelligent  member  of  a  class  can 
better  judge  whether  the  material  presented  on  such 
topics  is  fact  or  fabrication,  whether  the  reasoning  is 
logical  or  fallacious,  and  whetlier  or  not  care  lias  been 
taken  hi  the  clioice  and  arrangement  of  arguments.  Tlie 
reason  for  drawing  so  largely  upon  scientific  works  hn-  il- 
lust]'ations  is  obvious.  A  large  part  of  modei'u  argu- 
mentation is  in  the  field  of  general  science. 

The  book  is  not  intended  especiall}-  for  foi-ensic  ora- 
tors. The  different  fields  of  argumentation  are  recog- 
nized throughout  the  discussion.  Purpose  and  occasion 
are  constantly  kept  in  view ;  and  it  is  not  forgotten  tliat 
gaining  a  victory  hi  debate,  compelling  acceptance  of  a 
truth,  arousing  to  vigorous  action,  each  demands  its  own 
method. 


VI  PREFACE. 

Tlie  writer's  obligations  to  the  works  of  Whately  and 
of  Mill,  and  to  the  text-books  of  Professors  Hill,  Genung 
and  Hart,  are  too  evident  to  need  mention.  Special 
acknowledgment  is  due  to  Messrs.  Little,  Bro\\ai  & 
Company  for  permission  to  use  entire  the  speech  of 
Webster  at  the  White  murder  trial  and  many  passages 
from  Webster's  other  speeches ;  to  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Clarendon  Press  for  the  use  of  Burke's  Speech  on  Con- 
ciliation,, edited  by  E.  J.  Payne,  some  passages  from 
Burke's  other  w^orks,  and  passages  from  Fowler's  Induc- 
tive Logic  ;  to  Messrs.  D.  Appleton  &  Company  and  the 
English  house  of  Macmillan  &  Company  for  permission 
to  use  material  from  the  works  of  Huxley,  Tyndall,  Dar- 
win and  others  ;  to  Messrs.  Harper  &  Brotliers  for  pas- 
sages from  speeches  in  Goodricli's  British  Eloquence,,  and 
quotations  from  Professor  Hill's  Principles  of  Rhetoric ; 
to  Messrs.  Macmillan  &  Company,  Messrs.  G.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons,  Messrs.  Eldridge  &  Brother,  and  Messrs. 
Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Company,  Messrs.  Charles  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  Messrs.  Henry  Holt  &  Company,  for  material 
upon  which  they  have  copyright ;  to  Judge  Donovan  for 
passages  from  Modern  Jury  Trials  ;  to  Judge  Robinson 
for  quotations  from  Forensic  Oratory,,  and  to  Judge 
Wharton  for  quotations  from  The  Latv  of  Evidence. 
Due  credit  is  given  for  this  and  other  material,  wher- 
ever it  is  used. 


CONTENTS 


ARGUMEXTATTOX. 

Pages 
IXTRODUCTIOX xv-xviii 

CHAPTER  L— DEFINITIOX  AXD  RELATIOXS. 

Argumentation  defined  ;  its  relation  to  other  forms  of 
prose  composition.  Logical  argument  and  rhetorical 
compared.  Reasoning  and  arguing  universal.  Parts 
of  argumentative  discourse 1-5 

CHAPTER    IT.— THE   IXTRODUCTIOX. 

Definition.     Xecessity  of.     Purpose.     Kinds.     Hlustra- 

tions.     Qualities 6-11 

CHAPTER   ITT.  — DLSCUSSTOX. 

1.    PLAN. 

Xeed  of  plan  or  outline.  Relation  of  plan  to  discussion. 
Deductive  and  Inductive  arrangement.  ]5revity  or 
fullness.  Illustrations  and  what  they  show.  Order 
of  arguments.  Correlation  and  subordination.  (Iroup- 
ing  and  marking.     Summary       .....  12-26 

vii 


Viii  CONTENTS. 


2.    BODY    OF   ARGUMENTS. 


Pages 


Proposition  and  proof .  Need  of  proposition.  Proper  un- 
derstanding of  proposition.  Statement,  definition  and 
exposition  ;  Webster,  Huxley,  Burke.  Agreement  as 
to  what  is  taken  for  granted.  Burden  of  proof  and  pre- 
sumption. Assumption;  rule  and  illustrations.  Vary- 
ing force.     Shifting  presumption         ....  26-40 

3.    EVIDENCE. 

Definition.  Sources.  One's  own  senses  or  consciousness. 
Fact  and  opinion ;  inferences.  Testimony  of  Avitnesses ; 
ground  for  believing  ;  fact  and  opinion,  or  inference. 
Tests  of  witnesses.  Kinds  of  witnesses  or  testimony  ; 
character  and  number  ......  41-48 

Experts  ;  value,  danger  in  trusting.  Authority;  persons, 
documents  ;  value,  danger  of  trusting  too  much,  or  of 
rejecting.  Unwilling  or  reluctant  testimony;  forced; 
undesigned  ;  hurtful  admissions  ;  silent  or  negative  ; 
concurrent 48-61 

Testimonial  and  circumstantial  evidence.  Strength  of  cir- 
cumstantial evidence 62  66 

Tests  of  evidence;  consistency  with  itself ,  with  ordinary 
experience,  with  other  known  facts;  affected  by  char- 
acter of  what  is  testified  to.  Destroying  credibility; 
conflicting  circumstances 66-71 

Assertion  unsupported  not  evidence  .         .         .  71-72 

4.    CLASSES    OF   AEGU3IENTS. 

On  Basis  of  Force  :■ — Probable  or  moral  ;  illustrations. 

Certain  or  demonstrative  ;  illustrations        .         .  73-77 

On  Basis  of  Use:  —  Direct  ;  definition  and  illustrations. 
Indirect ;  definition  and  illustrations.  Beductio  ad  ah- 
swxhim.  lieducing  to  alternatives.  Method  of  resi- 
dues.    Reducing  to  dilemma.     Ironical  reasoning       77-88 

Or  Basis  of  Loyical  Process  :  —  Deductive ;  definition,  il- 
lustrations, syllogism  ;  rules  for;  fallacies, —  begging 
the  question,  arguing  beside  the  point,  confusion  of 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Pages 
terms,    ad    hominem,    ad   populum^    equivocation, 

sophist's  tricks        .......     88-107 

Inductive  ;  definition,  illustrations,  kinds,  method, 
hypothesis  and  verification  ;  fallacies, —  too  few  in- 
stances, no  causal  connection,  not  cause  for  a  cause, 
post  hoc.  Combination  of  induction  and  deduction  107-123- 
On  Basis  of  Source  irhence  they  are  Furnished:  —  Ante- 
cedent probability  i  definition,  illustrations.  Use 
by  scientists,  novelists,  dramatists,  all  arguers. 
Xeed  of,  in  general,  in  legal  practice  ;  preponder- 
ance of  ;  fallacies,  —  not  founded  in  experience,  like 
fallacies  in  deduction;  varying  force  .  .  .  124-14G 
Example  ;  definition,  illustrations,  real,  invented, 
analogical,  a  fortiori ;  varying  force  ;  when  most 
useful ;  fallacies.  Analog}' ;  definitions,  illustrations ; 
comj^ared  with  induction  ;  argumentative  and  illus- 
trative ;  when  most  useful  ;  laws  ;  varying  force  ; 
fallacies,  —  false  analogies,  fanciful  analogies  .  147-172 

Sign  ;  definition,  illustrations  ;  compared  with  evi- 
dence, indication;  false  signs;  varying  force;  causal 
connection  ;  fallacies, —  no  connection,  no  cause, 
wrong  cause  ;  combined  with  antecedent  probabil- 
it}',  opposed  by  same,  or  examples,  accumulated 
signs,  progressive  tendenc}' ;  value  of  all  knowledge,    173-190 

O.    SEQUENCE   OF   ARGUIMEXTS. 

ImiDortance  of  good  arrangement  in  order  of  jDroposi- 
tion,  direct  proofs,  and  refutation.  Unitj',  clearness 
and  force  depend  upon  arrangement ;  analogies      .  191-192 

Order  is  affected  ])y  nature  of  proposition,  b}"  character 
of  audience  and  their  relation  to  the  subject  and 
arguer,  by  participation  of  opponent  either  before 
or  after  arguer 193 

AVhen  the  proposition  may  be  deferred  ;  when  it  may 
])e  announced  at  beginning.  Partition  ;  rules  for, 
illustrations.  Exposition  and  statement  as  argu- 
ments ;  in  selection  of  arguments  force  is  to  l)e 
considered  rather  than  number      ....  194-199 


X  CONTENTS. 

Pages 

Natural  sequence  is,  —  antecedent  probabilit}',  exam- 
ple, sign;  reasons;  illustrations;  climax  if  possible; 
use  of  summaries      .......  200-205 

Refutation  may  come  lirst  or  last,  but  better  in  the 
midst  of  constrictive  arguments  ;  reasons  ;  arrange- 
ment of  arguments  ;  waiving  a  point ;  fairness  to 
opponent  ;  effort  in  refuting  ;  disproving  facts,  dis- 
closing fallacies,  testing  premises,  testing  circum- 
stances      206-214 

6.    PERSUASIOX. 

It  presumes  audience,  oral  delivery  and  desired  action  ; 
relation  to  argument ;  occasions  for  appeal  to  feel- 
ings ;  abuse  of  persuasion  ;  real  purpose         .         .  214-221 

Place  of  appeal  or  persuasion  ;  introduction,  discus- 
sion, conclusion  ;  reasons,  illustrations  ;  usual  and 
natural  order  is,  instruction,  conviction,  persuasion; 
feeling  should  follow  fact 222-234 

Motives  to  which  appeal  is  addressed  ;  highest  to  be 

chosen  ;  knowledge  of  those  addressed  .         .  234-238 

Methods  or  principles  :  appeal  is  usually  indirect,  maj' 
be  direct  ;  alliance  with  audience  ;  character  and 
reputation  of  speaker  ;  exhibition  of  feeling  ;  pre- 
sentation of  details  ;  concrete  and  specific  ;  variety  ; 
adaptation  ;  simplicity  ;  earnestness  ;  climax  .  239-254 

CHAPTER   IV.— THE   COXCLUSIOX. 

May  be  omitted  in  brief  speeches,  or  clear,  well  ana- 
lyzed, and  well  articulated  speeches.  Elements  en- 
tering are  conviction  or  persuasion  or  both.  May 
be  a  summary  or  recapitulation,  impressing  what  has 
been  said  in  long  discourses,  or  discourses  complex 
or  abstruse.  May  be  an  application  or  appeal  ; 
length  as  well  as  character  depends  upon  subject 
and  previous  discussion;  examples.  Its  qualities  in 
general,  —  freshness,  brevity,  conciseness,  direct- 
ness, clearness,  simplicity,  order,  force;  illustrations  255-271 


CONTENTS.  XI 

APPENDIX. 

Pages 

HISTORY  OF  WHITE  MURDER  CASE  ....  275-281 
\A^EBSTER'S  SPEECH  AT  THE  WHITE  MURDER  TRIAL.  282-341 
BRUTUS'S  SPEECH  AT  C.ESAR'S  FUNERAL  .  .  .  342-343 
MARK  ANTOXY'S  SPEECH  AT  C.ESAR'S  FUNERAL  ,  344-349 
OUTLINE  OF  WEBSTER'S  SPEECH  ....  350-361 
OUTLINE  OF  BURKE'S  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION  .  362-371 
OUTLINE  OF  HUXLEY'S  THREE  LECTURES  ON  EVO- 
LUTION           372-381 

PROPOSITIONS   FOR   DEBATE    OR   ARGUMENT          .            .  382-388 

GLOSSARY"   OF  TECHNICAL   TERMS         ....  389-401 

INDEX .  402-408 


THE  ESSENTIALS  OE  ARGUMENTATION. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Argumentation  is  one  of  tlie  most  practical  and  im- 
portant forms  of  composition,  because  of  its  general 
use ;  at  the  same  time  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult.  It 
finds  employment  in  the  pulpit,  at  the  bar,  in 
mentation'*'  ^^^®  legislature,  in  the  lecture-room  and  labora- 
tory, m  the  press,  in  practical  affairs,  —  in- 
deed wherever  men  endeavor  to  overthrow  error  or 
establish  truth. 

Before  entermg  upon  the  study  of  argumentation,  the 
student  is  supposed  to  have  mastered  those  principles  of 
style  which  underlie  all  efficient  communication  by  lan- 
guage.  The  first  of  these  is  grammatical  cor- 
Equipment :  rectiiess,  or  the  use  of  the  right  parts  of  speech 
in  a  form  correspondmg  to  their  office  in  the 
sentence,  and  appropriate  to  the  words  with  which  they 
are  brought  into  relation ;  a  second  is  pure,  proper  and 
precise  diction,  or  the  use  of  only  such  words  and  ex- 
pressions as  are  sanctioned  by  the  uniform  practice  of 
the  reputable  writers  and  speakers  of  the  present  time, 
and  with  the  exact  meaning  which  they  authorize ;  a 
third  is  clearness,  or  the  selection  of  such  appropriate 
words,  —  as  few  as  may  be  compatible  with  complete- 
ness of  statement,  —  and  the  arrangement  of  these  words 
in  such  an  order  that  the  meaning  will  be  unmistakable. 


XVI  li^TRODUCTIOX. 

To  these  must  be  added  force,  or  the  use  of  the  most 
effective  language,  and  elegance,  or  the  use  of  those  ex- 
pressions, literal  or  figurative,  which  are  most  pleasing 
to  refined  taste. 

It  is  assumed  also  that  the  student  is  somewhat 
familiar,  theoretically  and  practically,  with  the  special 
forms  of  composition  often  mdispensahle  to  successful 
argumentation.  He  should  have  some  skill 
in  description,  the  delineation  of  a  concrete 
visible  object,  real  or  fictitious,  or  the  enumeration  of 
the  co-existent  parts  or  qualities  of  a  whole.  He  should 
be  practiced  in  narration,  which  involves  the  enumera- 
tion in  proj)er  ordei",  of  the  successive  details  of  an  event 
or  occurrence.  Especially  to  his  advantage  will  be  a 
mastery  of  exposition.  This  is  the  process  of  unfolding 
a  term,  theme  or  proposition,  so  as  to  make  clear  its  full 
meaning, — a  discussion  of  objects,  events,  and  principles, 
in  their  general  aspects. 

The  student  should  also  have  acquired  such  a  knowl- 
edge of  history,  science,  literature,  current  events  and 
practical  affairs,  that  he  either  possesses  data  for  argu- 
ments and  illustrations,  or  knows  where   to 
look  for  them.     He  should  have  learned  not 
only  where  to  read  but  how  to  read;  he  should  know 
Avhere,  what,  and  how  to  observe ;  he  should  know  from 
what  persons   he   may  obtain    trustworthy  information 
upon  a  given  subject,  and  be  able  to  select  from  the 
facts  gathered  whatever  is  pertinent  to  his  proposition. 
Besides,  he  who  would  profitably  follow  or  success- 
fully construct  an   elaborate    argumentative 
discourse,  must  also  Imow  something  of  the 
general  principles  of  logic,  —  the  laws  of  the  syllogism, 


INTRODUCTION.  XVll 

the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  analogy,  evidence,  and 
the  ordinary  processes  of  induction  and  deduction. 
The  theory  of  argumentation  involves  all  of  these ;  the 
practice  involves  sometimes  one,  sometmies  another, 
sometimes  several,  accordmg  to  the  nature  of  the  propo- 
sition argued.  The  lawyer  becomes  an  expert  in  the  use 
of  evidence  and  analogy ;  the  clergyman  acquires  skill 
in  deduction  and  inference  from  authority ;  the  lecturer 
on  natural  science  usually  emploj^s  induction;  the  mathe- 
matical reasoner  demonstrates  his  propositions  by  deduc- 
tions from  established  principles,  axioms  and  definitions  ; 
the  editor  and  the  man  of  affairs,  whether  consciously 
or  not,  employ  all.  That  many  will  enter  upon  the  study 
of  argumentation  without  this  knowledge  is  a  sufficient 
reason  for  mtroducing  a  brief  discussion  of  these  sub- 
jects, though  they  belong  properly  to  logical  rather  than 
to  rhetorical  argumentation. 

In  general,  the  same  principles  govern  discourse  ad- 
dressed to  hearers  and  that  addressed  to  readers.  Ele- 
ments especially  essential  to  oral  discourse  will  therefore 

„  ,  ,  be  noticed  in  their  proper  relation.  Except 
spoken  and  ^  .  ... 

Written  in  scientific  discussion,  argumentation  is  ordi- 
narily used  m  connection  with  persuasion  and 
as  its  basis.  This  is  the  case  m  the  courts,  in  the  legis- 
lature and  in  practical  affairs.  Judges  and  juries,  accept- 
ing certain  principles,  are  persuaded  to  decide  in  favor  of 
certain  persons  or  institutions.  Legislators,  convinced 
of  certain  truths,  are  persuaded  to  vote  in  favor  of 
measures  which  accord  with  those  truths.  Men,  attain- 
ing a  certain  belief,  are  persuaded  to  pursue  or  to  aban- 
don a  course  of  action  in  accordance  with  this  belief. 
The  writer  of  rhetorical  argument  usually  composes  his 


XYlll  INTRODUCTION. 

discourse  with  an  ideal  hearer  or  reader  in  mind,  or  with 
special  reference  to  a  definite  body  of  readers  or  listeners. 
The  following  discussion  is  therefore  made  to  cover  the 
general  principles  of  persuasion  as  well  as  of  argumen- 
tation. 


THE 

ESSENTIALS  OF  ARGUMENTATION 


CHAPTER   I. 

DEFINITION    AND    RELATIONS. 

Argumentation  is  the  process  of  proving  or  disproving 
a  proposition.     Its  purpose  is  to  induce  a  new  belief, 
to  establish   truth  or  combat  error  in  the  mind  of  an- 
other.    It  is  a  rhetorical  process,  communica-  pgfij^iyon 
ting  truth  for  the  sake  of  conviction.    It  pre-  Relation  to 
supposes  not  only  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  and  Expo- 
to  be  communicated,  but  also  of  the  process  ^^^o^- 
by  which  the  arguer  has  reached  that  truth.     It  differs 
from  reasoning,  which  is  a  logical  process  and  inquires 
after  truth  for  its  OAvn  sake.      At  the  start  the  exact 
truth  to  be  established  may  be  unknown  to  the  reasoner 
or   investigator.     Rhetoric  finds  or   invents    and   pre- 
sents arguments.    Logic  finds  truth  and  tests  arguments. 
Exposition  aims  at  instruction  by  making  thought  clear, 
and  has  to  do  with  either  terms  or  statements.     Argu- 
mentation implies  controversy;  it  aims  to  make  thought 
convincing,  bringing  the  hearer  or  reader  over  to  the 
arguer's  state  of  mind.     It  lias  to  do  with  propositions, 
and  proofs  or  arguments.     Its  laws  may  be  deduced  from 


2  THE   EvSSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

those  argumentative  j^roductions  which  have  been  most 
effective. 

In  its  narrow,  technical  sense,  argumentative  dis- 
course, like  exposition,  is  addressed  to  the  intellect. 
Persuasion  is  addressed  to  the  feelings.     But  however 

distinct  from  persuasion  exposition  and  ar- 
Pract^e^"*     gumentation   are  in  theory,  it  is  impossible 

to  keep  them  separate  in  practice.  One 
may  wish  in  the  same  address  to  inform,  to  convince, 
to  arouse ;  to  explain  a  fact,  to  establish  a  truth,  or  to 
influence  an  action.  In  its  broader  sense,  then,  in- 
cluding persuasion,  argumentative  discourse  is  also 
addressed  to  the  emotions  and  the  will,  inciting  men 
to  action  and  shaping  their  puiposes.  Technically  its 
connections  are  logical,  its  conclusions  those  of  the  un- 
derstanding. Practically  it  does  not  stop  with  conclu- 
sions, nor,  except  in  the  realms  of  pure  science,  is  it 
satisfied  with  beliefs,  not  leading  to  action.  Argumen- 
tation becomes  oratory  when,  as  spoken  discourse,  it 
impels  men  to  achievement  or  guides  their  careers. 

Reasoning  is  not  confined  to  any  one  department  of 
human  knowledge,  nor  to  any  particular  rank  of  men. 

By  experiment  the  farmer  reaches  conclu- 
Reasoning      sions  as  to  the  best  rotation  of  crops.     The 

Universal.  ^ 

mechanic  reasons  to  as  fixed  conclusions 
upon  the  adaptability  of  different  woods  and  metals  to 
special  purposes.  Their  reasoning  is  as  real,  if  not  so 
logical,  as  that  of  the  trained  scientist,  jurist  or  states- 
man ;  and  the  process  is  practically  the  same  whatever 
the  topic.  However  mysterious  the  terms  "  deduction  "  ^ 
and  "induction,"  2   the   processes  are  common  enough. 

1  Fages  15,  88.  '■^  Pages  15,  108. 


DEFINITION   AND    RELATIONS.  6 

Almost  every  person  in  the  course  of  a  day  sets  in  motion 
a  complex  train  of  reasoning  of  the  same  kind,  though 
differing  in  degree,  as  that  which  a  scientist  goes  through 
in  tracing  the  causes  of  natural  phenomena. 

''  You  go  into  a  fruiterer's  shop,  wanting  an  apple ; 
you  take  up  one,  and,  on  biting  it,  find  it  sour ;  you  see 
that  it  is  hard  and  green.  You  try  another,  and  that, 
too,  is  hard  and  green  and  sour.  The  shopman  offers 
you  another,  but,  before  biting  it,  you  examine  it  and  find 
that  it  is  hard  and  green,  and  you  say  you  will  not  have 
it,  as  it  must  be  sour,  like  those  that  you  have  already 
tried.  You  have  performed  the  operation  of  an  induc- 
tion. You  found  that  in  two  experiences,  hardness  and 
greenness  in  apples  went  together  with  sourness  —  a 
small  basis,  but  enough  to  make  an  induction  from. 
You  base  upon  tliis  the  general  law,  all  hard  and  green 
apples  are  sour.  Having  got  3'our  general  law,  you  say, 
when  offered  a  hard,  green  apple,  'All  hard  and  green 
apples  are  sour ;  this  apple  is  hard  and  green,  therefore 
this  apple  is  sour.'  Tliis  train  of  reasoning  is  what  logi- 
cians call  a  syllogism,!  and  has  all  its  various  parts  and 
terms,  its  major  premise,^  its  minor  premise,^  its  conclu- 
sion. B}^  the  help  of  further  reasoning,  wliich  if  drawn 
out  would  be  exhibited  in  two  or  three  other  syllogisms, 
you  arrive  at  your  final  determination,  '  I  will  not  liave 
this  apple.'  Later,  when  asked  how  you  know  all  hard, 
green  apples  are  sour,  you  say,  *  I  liave  tried  them  over 
and  over,  and  always  found  tliem  so.'  If  we  were  talking 
(in  terms  of)  science  instead  of  common  sense,  we  should 
call  that  experimental  verification.'"-^ 

The  test  of  the  conclusion  reached  is  the  same  in  all 

1  Pages  89,  90.  -  Hiixlev.  Ihirwinlana,  305. 


4  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

fields  of  inquiry.     Here,  however,  the  disciplined  logi- 
cian has  the  advantage.      Here  is  the  sharp 

Tests  Are       ]^^j-^g  q£  distinction  between  the  ordinary  think- 
the  Same.  ^  ^ 

er  and  the  scientific  reasoner. 

"  The  validity  of  the  argument,  when  constructed," 
says  Mr.  Mill  in  his  Logic^  '-*  depends  on  principles,  and 
must  be  tried  by  tests  which  are  the  same  for  all  de- 
scriptions of  inquiries,  whether  the  result  be  to  give  A 
an  estate,  or  to  enrich  science  with  a  new  general  truth. 
In  the  one  case  and  m  the  other,  the  senses  or  testimony^ 
must  decide  on  the  individual  facts ;  the  rules  of  the 
syllogism  (the  joining  together  in  thought  of  two 
propositions)  will  determine  whether,  those  facts  being 
supposed  correct,  the  case  really  falls  within  the  formulae 
of  the  different  inductions  under  which  it  lias  been  suc- 
cessively brought;  and  finally,  the  legitimacy  of  the  in- 
ductions themselves  must  be  decided  by  other  rules." ^ 

Arguing  is  as  universal  as  reasoning.  Thoughtful 
men  of  whatever  station  or  pursuit,  are  not  content 
merely  to  find  truth,  or  adopt  opinions.  They  insist 
that  this  truth  is  the  truth,  and  strive  to  in- 
Argtting  spire  in  others  confidence  in  it  as  such :  they 
strive  to  enforce  upon  others  opinions  which 
they  believe  correct.  Beliefs  founded  on  prejudice  or 
on  insufficient  knowledge,  are  to  be  met  and  overcome 
in  every  department  of  human  activity.  Wherever  there 
are  dissenting  opinions  on  things  as  they  are  supposed 
to  be  or  ought  to  be,  —  right  and  wrong,  true  and  false, 
just  and  unjust,  expedient  and  inexpedient,  —  men  will 
debate.  New  fields  are  continually  opening,  and  new 
investigations  present  fresh  topics  in  old  fields.  Whether 

1  Page  41.  2  Page  115. 


DEFINITION    AND    RELATIONS.  5 

Moses  wrote  tlie  Pentateuch ;  whether  Homer  and  Tell 
were  myths;  whether  the  Silver  Bill  was  good  legis- 
lation ;  whether  capital  and  labor  can  successfuUj  com- 
bine in  cooperative  institutions,  —  are  no  more  serious 
questions  for  discussion  with  some  classes  of  thinkers, 
than  whether  it  is  expedient  to  build  a  new  school  house, 
whether  potatoes  should  be  planted  in  hills  or  in  drills, 
or  what  is  the  most  effective  insecticide,  are  to  others. 

The  formal  parts  of  an  argumentative  discourse  are 
usually,  —  (1)    The   Introduction,   or  Exordium  ;    (2) 
The  Body  of  Discourse,  or  Discussion,  including  the 
Proposition,  the  Partition,  and  the  Arguments, 
or  Proofs,  and  Illustrations,  —  all  so  arranged  ^is^course. 
as  to  make  clear  and  establish  the  truth  of  a 
proposition;  and  (3)    The   Conclusion,  or  Peroration. 
The  introduction  and  peroration  may  often  be  dispensed 
with.     The  persons  addressed  may,  by  what  has  gone 
before  or  by  attendant  circumstances,  be  sufficiently  pre- 
pared for  the  discussion ;   and  the  discussion  may  be 
so  clear,  forcible,  direct  and  earnest,  that  it  may  be  moie 
effective  without  any  formal  recapitulation  or  other  reen- 
forcement  of  what  has  once  been  well  said. 


6  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE   INTRODUCTION. 

While  a  formal  introduction  is  not  always  necessary, 
it  is  usually  desirable.  As  the  name  implies,  the  intro- 
duction is  preparatory  to  what  follows :  "  the  man,  the 

subject  and  the  occasion,"  need  to  be  brougfht 
Purpose  and     .  ,      .  rr^i       i  •  . 

General         into  relation.     The  hearer  is  to  be  put  into 

Quauties.  possession  of  the  subject,  the  point  of  view 
and  the  treatment.  Other  things  being  equal,  the 
more  briefly,  sim2)ly  and  naturally  tliis  can  be  done, 
the  better.  Care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  the  mechani- 
cal and  artificial  and  merely  general,  if  the  introduction 
is  to  serve  its  purpose.  This  purpose  is  threefold :  to 
lead  up  to  the  subject  by  giving  necessary  information 
or  removing  objections ;  to  arouse  attention  and  stimu- 
late interest ;  to  secure  good-will  and  confidence.  The 
length  and  nature  of  the  introduction  will  depend 
largely  upon  the  breadth  and  character  of  the  dis- 
course, but  will  be  modified  by  the  relation  of  speaker 
to  subject,  and  of  both  speaker  and  subject  to  audience ; 
but  it  must  be  clear,  direct  and  to  the  point.  An  abrupt 
beginning  is  by  no  means  the  worst ;  to  attack  a  subject 
boldly,  to  seize  upon  it  firmly,  is  better  than  to  apj)roach 
it  doubtfully  and  from  afar. 

Tlie  introductory  paragraph  of  Webster's  Speech  in 

the   Dartmouth    College    Case  is  a   model   of 
Webster's  ^  .       ,    . 

"Dartmouth  brevity,  coiiciseness  and  clearness  m  bring- 
CoUege."  ^j^g  forward  the  general  subject.  It  opens 
the  way  to  the  narrative  wliich  leads  to  his  specific 
proposition :  — 


THE    INTRODUCTION.  7 

'^  The  general  question  is,  whether  the  acts  of  the  legislature 
of  Xew  Hampshire  of  the  27th  of  June,  and  of  the  I8th  and 
19th  of  December,  1816,  are  valid  and  binding  on  the  plaintiffs 
without  their  acceptance  or  assent.^'' 

The  subject  as  announced  often  seems  cliy,  unin- 
teresting, worn  or  commonplace,  or  a  matter  of  only 
speculative  interest.  Special  skill  is  needed  in  such 
cases  to  awaken  attention  and  secure  interest. 

Acknowl- 

The  energy  expended  in  the  introduction  to  edging  Dif- 
overcome  the  hearer's  indifference  or  preju-  **^^^^®^- 
dice  and  arouse  his  sympathy,  will  save  itself  many 
times  in  the  discussion;  and  sometimes  this  advantage 
may  be  gained  by  merely  stating  the  difficulty  with 
frankness,  and  in  a  familiar  colloquial  style,  as  Pro- 
fessor Huxley  does  in  his  Three  Lectures  on  Evo- 
lution.^ 

Speakers  often  win  attention  from  the  start  by  pro- 
posing a  subject  as  important,  curious  or  otherwise 
interesting,    and    specially    worthy    of    consideration. 

Sometimes  if  perfectly  sure  of   their  proofs 

T    .,,  .  1.1  .      .       1        Character- 

and  illustrations,  they  stimulate  curiosity  by  izing  the 

stating  their  conclusion  in  a  way  to  involve  Subject, 
apparent  contradiction,  the  hearer  wondering  hoAv  the 
strange,  improbable  or  paradoxical  will  be  explained. 
F'requently  it  is  shown  that  the  subject  has  been  neg- 
lected, misunderstood  or  misrepresented.  This  in- 
timation of  something  new  by  way  of  correction  or 
explanation,  ma}^  remove  objections  to  what  seems 
hackneyed,  and  subdue  j^rejudices  against  the  consid- 
eration of  a  forbidding  subject.  Such  introductions, 
however,  are  liable  to  contain  the  same   faults  wliich 

1  Page'J24. 


8  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF   AKGUMENTATION. 

they  attempt  to  remedy  in  tlie  subject  —  the  trite,  the 
commonplace,  the  unpopuhir. 

A  personal  introduction,  calculated  to  render  the 
audience  well  disposed  toward  the  speaker,  was  con- 
sidered very  important  by  the  ancients.  In  modern 
times  it  is  less  customary.  There  are  fre- 
Personai  quent  occasions,  howevei-,  where  the  speaker, 
before  he  can  make  any  actual  advance  with 
his  argument,  must  secure  the  good-will  of  his  listeners. 
He  may  be  unpopular;  Iris  cause  may  be  in  bad  repute; 
his  hearers  may  be  so  fully  possessed  with  an  opposite 
view  that  they  will  listen  to  a  discussion  only  from 
personal  considerations.  The  beginning  of  Paul's 
speech  on  Mars'  Hill  affords  a  fine  illustration  of  the 
personal,  conciliatory  introduction  calculated  to  secure 
a  courteous  and  candid  hearing  of  a  subject  liable  to 
offend:  — 

"  Ye  men  of  Athens,  I  perceive  that  in  all  things  ye  are  too 
superstitious  ;  for  as  I  passed  by  and  beheld  your  devotions, 
I  found  an  altar  with  this  inscription  :  To  the  Unhioioi  God. 
Whom,  therefore  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him  declare  I  unto 
you  !  '^  ' 

The  formal  introduction  may  sometimes  be  omitted. 
The  occasion  may  be  such  that  it  is  rendered  unneces- 
sary.    The  subject  may  be  of  such  general  interest  that 
the  audience  knows  all  approaches  to  it.    To 

After 

Another  the  last  generation,  "  The  Conduct  of  the 
Speaker.  q-^^.|  War,"  was  a  subject  lying  so  near  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  the  people  that  any  formal  approach 
to  a  discussion  of  it  would  have  been  superfluous.  The 
subject  may  have  been  introduced  by  a  previous  speaker, 

1  Acts  xvii.  23. 


THE   INTRODUCTION.  9 

and  an  introductory  paragraph  be  necessary  to  recall, 
restate  or  emphasize  the  real  topic.  The  beginning  of 
Webster's  Reply  to  Hayne  is  an  example :  — 

"Mr.  President  :  When  the  mariner  has  been  tossed  for 
many  days  in  thick  weather,  and  on  an  unknown  sea,  ho  natu- 
rally avails  hhnself  of  the  first  pause  in  the  storm,  the  earliest 
glance  of  the  sun,  to  take  his  latitude,  and  ascertain  how  far 
the  elements  have  driven  him  from  his  true  course.  Let  us 
imitate  this  prudence,  and  before  we  float  farther  on  the  waves 
of  this  debate,  refer  to  the  point  from  which  we  departed,  that 
we  may  at  least  be  able  to  conjecture  where  we  now  are.  I 
ask  for  the  reading  of  the  resolution  before  the  senate."  ^ 

The  resolution  read,  and  the  subject  brought  clearly 
before  the  senate,  Webster  shows  how  everything  else, 
past,  present  and  future  has  been  discussed  except  the 
real  question,  which,  after  meeting  some  personal  charges, 
he  proceeds  to  consider. 

Webster's  introduction  in  his  argument  at  the  trial 
of  the  murderers  of  Captain  Joseph  White,  is  in  six 
paragraplis,  each  of  which  has  a  special  purpose.     The 
first  is  personal  and  conciliatory,  stating  his  Webster's 
relation  to  criminal  prosecutions  affec ting- life.  "  wute 

^  ^  Murder 

The  second  is  personal  and  conciliatory,  meet-  Trial. " 
ing  objections  to  his  appearing  in  the  case,  and  stating 
his  attitude  toward  the  prisoner,  toward  crime  and  its 
punishment,  and  toward  justice.  The  third  character- 
izes the  crime  which  has  been  committed.  The  fourth 
characterizes  the  criminal.  The  fifth  narrates  the  sup- 
posed facts  of  the  crime  in  explicit  detail,  and  paves  the 
way  for  the  argument.  The  sixth  is  an  exposition  of 
the  murderer's  horrible  mental  agony,  leading  either  to 
disclosure  or  to  suicide,  —  which  is  confession.^ 

1  Great  Speeches,  189.  -  Pages  282,  et  seq. 


10  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

It  is  better  to  make  the  intiodiiction  too  brief  than 
too  extended,  —  to  assume  that  the  audience  is  prepared 
for  the  discussion  rather  than  to  weary  their  patience 
with  unnecessary  preparation  ;  to  take  atten- 
tion and  interest  for  granted,  rather  than 
waste  time  and  energy  in  arousing  them.  It  is  best, 
whenever  possible,  to  assume  a  favorable  state  of  feel- 
ing on  the  part  of  the  audience.  To  assume  the  ex- 
istence of  liostile  feeling  when  there  is  little  feeling 
or  none  at  all ;  to  refer  to  one's  personal  relations  to  the 
audience,  tlie  subject  or  the  occasion,  when  these  rela- 
tions are  not  prominent,  —  is  one  of  the  most  offensive 
expressions  of  egotism.  If,  however,  either  the  speaker 
or  the  subject  stands  in  an  obviously  unfavorable  light 
before  hearers,  it  is  important  to  say  enough  to  secure 
the  speaker  a  fair  hearing,  and  the  subject  a  candid  and 
even  generous  consideration. 

The  introduction  is  also  intended  to  secure  sympa- 
thetic mental  action  between  speaker  and  listener.    The 
qualities  best  adapted  to  effect  this  are  absolute  clear- 
ness and  directness    of  statement,  modesty, 
?*^®T .  frankness,    earnestness,    moderation.       Mod- 

Qualities.  '  ' 

esty  wins  regard  and  promises  only  what  it 

can  fulfill.  An  unfeigned,  outspoken  method  inspires 
confidence.  The  speaker's  honesty  must  be  so  evident 
that  the  audience  will  not  fear  being  practiced  upon. 
Earnestness  implies  attachment  to  opinions  and  confi- 
dence in  them.  Moderation  is  the  result  of  self-control. 
The  introduction  is  no  place  for  wild  bursts  of  emotion ; 
no  facts  have  yet  been  presented  as  a  justification  of 
them. 

Simplicity,  clearness  and  directness,   should  charac- 


THE    INTRODUCTION.  11 

terize  the  style  of  the  introduction.  There  is  no  place 
here  for  high-wrought  emotion,  and  therefore  no  place 
for  pretentious  and  impassioned  language. 
The  speaker  must  move  on  a  low,  even,  eligi- 
ble plane,  where  the  listener  can  keep  pace  with  him. 
A  simple,  plain  style,  expressing  appropriate  ideas,  Avill 
suffice  to  secure  attention,  arouse  interest  and  awaken 
expectation ;  and  this  is  sufficient  save  in  exceptional 
circumstances. 

Whether  written  first,  according  to  common  usage,  or 
last,  according  to  common  advice,  the  introduction  can- 
not be  composed  until  a  definite  plan  is  for- 
mulated for  the  contents  and  development  of  composine 
the  discussion.       The  introduction  implies  a 
knowledge  of  what  is  to  be  introduced. 


12  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    DISCUSSION. 
I.  PLAN. 

By  discussion  is  meant  the  methodical  development 
of  a  proposition ;  or,  the  systematic  presentation  of  a 
proposition  and  proofs,  along  with  all  necessary  defini- 
tions, explanations  and  illustrations.  These, 
to  be  effective,  must  be  arranged  according 
to  some  well-organized  plan.  The  discussion  may  be 
followed  by  an  appeal  to  the  feelings ;  or  this  appeal 
may  be  made  at  different  points  in  the  discourse,  as  the 
matter  presented  warrants  it. 

No  one  plan  can  be  prescribed  for  all  kinds  of  dis- 
cussions.    The  arrangement  of  material   will  vary  ac- 
cording to  (1)  the  subject  and  the  purpose  of  the  dis- 
course;    (2)  the  form  of  the  proposition  and 
Need  of  ^-j^^  kinds  of  arguments  used;  (3)   the  rela- 

tion of  subject  and  speaker  to  those  ad- 
dressed; (4)  the  time  at  the  speaker's  disposal;  (5)  the 
fact  of  arguing  inde^^endently,  or  of  being  preceded  or 
followed  by  an  opponent ;  (6)  whether  the  production 
is  to  be  addressed  to  readers  or  hearers.  But  however 
such  relations  may  modify  a  plan,  a  Avell-ordered  pres- 
entation is  necessary. 

As  the  element  of  place  governs  the  order  of  details 

in  description,  and  that  of  time,  in  narration, — so  logical 

effect  is  the  chief  determining  element  in  arranging  the 

parts  of  an  argumentative  discourse.     Argu- 

Pr^^cipief.      iiientation  has  its  origin  in  human  thought, 

and  must  be  governed  by  the  laws  of  human 


THE    PLAN.  13 

thought.  Its  material  is  more  subjective  tlian  that  of 
descrij)tiou  and  narration ;  its  method,  therefore,  is  less 
subject  to  prescription,  and  depends  more  upon  the 
individual  arguer's  logical  sense,  and  ability  to  arrange 
his  material  effectively.  Tlie  problem  is  to  find  a  se- 
quence that  shall  lead  forward  natui-ally,  aid  the  mem- 
ory, compel  the  understanding  and  move  the  will.  In 
general,  the  plan  must  make  the  conclusion  to  be 
reached  unmistakable.  It  must  aim  at  a  just  propor- 
tion of  parts,  such  coordination  and  subordination  as 
shall  make  clear  the  relation  of  2)art  to  part,  and  of 
part  to  whole,  and  make  Avhat  is  most  important  stand 
out  most  prominentl3\  The  best  arrangement  Avill 
make  part  strengthen  part,  will  observe  logical  sequence, 
and  obey  logical  necessity.  Arguments,  to  be  most 
effective,  must  be  so  ordered  that  the  cumulative  force 
of  the  whole,  as  well  as  of  the  successive  parts,  shall 
tend  toward  climax.  Feeling  should  follow  fact,  and 
the  persuasive  follow  the  convincing.^ 

To  form  a  plan  for  the  most  effective  presentation  of 
his  proofs,  implies  on  the  part  of  the  arguer  a  complete 
mastery  of  his  proposition,  and  adequate  knowledge  of 
the  logical  processes  thi^ough  which  he  has 
come  to    believe   in    its    truth.      It    implies  ^^^^l^^^ 
further,  accumulating,  weighing  and  selecting 
materials  for  proof.     It  involves  a  thorough  acquain- 
tance with  the  degree  of  intelligence,  beliefs,  prejudices 
and  mental  attitudes  of  those  addressed.     If  the  arcu- 
ment  is  to  be  part  of  a  debate,  making  a  plan  involves 
a  thorough  knowledge   of  the   opponent,  his  position, 
materials  and  method  of  procedure. 

1  Page  21  (5. 


14  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGU^NIEXTATIOX. 

It  Lisiially  answers  the  purpose  of  those  addressed  if 
only  so  much  of  the  plan  is  announced  as  can  be  made 
to  coincide  with  the  partition  ^  of  the  proposition ;  but 
for  the  writer  or  speaker,  while  composing,  a 
Outline  on  full  outline  or  skeleton  is  indispensable. 
Composition.  Qnly  by  this  means  is  it  possible  to  secure 
clearness,  proportion,  coordination  and  subordination, 
movement  in  effective  sequence,  and  climax.  Only  by 
this  means  can  repetition,  confusion  and  irrelevance  be 
avoided.  Making  an  outline  stimulates  thought,  de- 
velops the  logical  faculties,  and  often  gives  material  a 
deeper  meaning  by  bringing  it  into  its  proper  relations. 
"A  skeleton  is  not  a  thing  of  beauty;  but  it  is  the 
thing  which  more  than  any  other  makes  the  body  erect 
and  strong  and  swift.  John  Quincy  Adams  says, 
*  Divisions  belong  to  the  art  of  thinking.'  They  are 
fundamental,  then,  to  the  uttering  of  thought.  To  the 
same  purpose  is  the  old  Roman  proverb,  '  Pie  who 
makes  careful  distinctions,  teaches  well.'  "  ^ 

Phillips  Brooks  also  insists  on  the  necessity  of  a 
plan :  "  The  statement  of  the  subject,  the  division  into 
heads,  the  recapitulation  at  the  end,  all  the  scaffold- 
ing and  anatomy  of  a  sermon,  is  out  of  favor.  .  .  . 
The  true  Avay  to  get  rid  of  the  boniness  of  a  sermon, 
however,  is  not  by  leaving  out  the  skeleton,  but 
by  clothing  it  with  flesh.  True  liberty  in  writing 
comes  by  law ;  and  the  more  thoroughly  the  outlines 
of  a  work  are  laid  out,  the  more  freely  a  sermon  will 
flow,  like  an  unwasted  stream  between  its  well-built 
banks.  Most  congregations  welcome  clear,  precise 
statements  of  the  course  which  a  sermon  is  going  to 

1  Page  194.  ^  Austin  Phelps,  Lectures  on  Preaching,  435. 


THE    PL  AX.  15 

pursue,  careful!}'  marked  divisions  of  its  thoughts,  and 
above  all,  full  recapitulation  of  its  argument  at  its 
close."  ^ 

Deductive  means  leading  from  something.  The 
deductive  plan  starts  Avith  the  conclusion  and  gives 
the  proofs,  going  from  the  general  to  the  particular. 
This  arrano^ement,  also  called  the  method  of  ^^ 

^  '  The 

enforcement,  begins  with  a  general  truth  or  Deductive 
princii)le  to  be  enforced.  This  it  proves, 
applies,  enforces,  by  means  of  minor  truths,  or  princi- 
ples, by  facts,  examples,  illustrations,  until  the  mean- 
ing and  application  of  all  are  obvious  and  effective. 
The  proposition  to  be  proved  is  known  from  the 
beginning.  The  bearing  of  every  step  is  evident. 
The  application  of  principles  is  made  prominent.  At- 
tention is  economized  ;  memory  is  not  burdened ;  but 
no  special  curiosity  is  aroused. 

Inductive  means    leading   toward    something.     The 
inductive   arrangement  begins  with    the   statement   of 
known  facts,  particulars,  or  elementary  principles,  and 
by  classifying  and  grouping  these,  gradually 
leads  to  a  general  conclusion,  truth  or  prin-  Arrange- 
ciple,  giving  the  meaning  and  making  clear  ™^^^* 
the   application   of  the  whole.      Its   movement  is   the 
opposite    of    deduction.      It    gives    the    proofs    before 
drawing  the   conclusion,   thus   pi-eparing  the   way  for 
its  acceptance.     It  stimulates  curiosity,  but  it  strains 
attention.     It  is  adapted  to  tlie  establishment  of  new 
or  strange  truths,  wliich,  if  stated   before   they   were 
proved,  might  awaken  doubt  or  opposition. 

Each    of    these    methods    has   its    advantages.     The 

1  Lectures  on  Preachiny,  178. 


16  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

deductive   is   the   natural   method  of    instruction,   and 
assumes  a  comj)lete  mastery  of   the  subject.     The  in- 
ductive is  the  method  of  investig-ation,  and 
Two  ^  ^  .  1       ,      T 

Methods         assumes    that    the    arguer    is    only   leading 

Combined.  f]jQ^Q  addressed  along  a  line  of  inquiry. 
The  t\\'o  methods  may  be  combined  in  the  same  dis- 
course, the  principal  divisions  proceeding  according 
to  one,  the  subordinate  divisions,  according  to  the 
other;  or  one  part  of  the  discourse  may  be  arranged 
according  to  one  method,  while  another  part  follows 
the  other  method.  The  arguer  must  use  his  judgment 
as  to  Avhich  Avill  be  most  effective.^ 

The  plan  is  primarily  for  the  guidance  of  the  Avriter 
or  speaker  while  composing  his  Avork.  It  may  vary  in 
length  and  fullness,  therefore,  from  the  few  headings 

lotted  down  by  the  extemporaneous  speaker. 
Brevity  or       *'  . 

FuUnessof     to  the  elal)orate  brief  of  the  lawyer  or  the 

^^^^'  systematic    outline    prefixed   to    a    scientific 

treatise.  Its  fullness  will  depend  U23on  many  circum- 
stances ;  the  length  of  the  discussion,  the  difficulty  of 
the  reasoning,  the  manner  in  which  the  completed  pro- 
duction is  to  be  presented,  the  experience  of  the  arguer 
or  debater,  the  character  of  the  arguments  used.  It 
should  at  least  state  the  proposition,  define  terms,  and 
make  clear  the  specific  truth  to  be  established.  It 
should  present,  with  properly  noted  coordination,  the 
chief  propositions  used  as  proofs,  with  subordinate 
propositions,  also  properly  marked,  going  to  prove 
these.  The  lawyer's  brief  must  clearly  indicate  the 
complete  line  of  argument  in  the  case,  with  authorities 
on  disputed  points. 

1  Page  19. 


THE    PLAX.  17 

With  Burke's  experience  and  perfect  mastery  of  his 
subject,  the  following  topical  outline  was  perhaps  suffi- 
cient for  his  purpose,  in  his   argument    on  Burke's 
Conciliation  with  the   Coloiiies  :  —  Outlines. 

Introduction. 

Discussion. 

Part  i.  —  Condition  of  America. 

1.  Population. 

2.  Trade,  Agriculture,  Fisheries.     (Against  use  of  force.) 

3.  Character  of  Colonies. 

Part  ii.  —  How  to  Deal  ivith  America.     Three  Alternatives. 

1.  To  alter  moral  causes  of  the  character  of  the  Colonists. 

2.  To  prosecute  them  as  criminal. 

3.  To    yield    to    them,   giving    up   the    question    of    right. 

yuch  a  concession  would  not  lead  to  further  demands. 

Part  hi.  —  The  Resolutions. 

Removal  of  objections. 

Criticism  of  Lord  North's  i)lan. 
Conclusion. 

But  had  Burke  been  a  beginner  in  argumentation, 
or  had  he  examined  sources,  collected,  analyzed,  and 
chosen  material  for  this  occasion  alone,  or  had  he  been 
presenting  his  brief  to  a  court,  he  would  probably  have 
made  an  outline  more  like  that  on  pages  362-371. 

Similarly,  Webster  might  have  used  at  the  White 
Murder  Trial, ^  notes  something  like  the  fol-  Webster's 

lowing  :  —  Plans. 

1.  Personal  explanations  ;  supposed  facts  ;   effect  on  com- 

munity. 

2.  Provisional  refutation,  mostly  personal. 

3.  Statement  of  the  case  ;  statement  of  proofs. 

4.  Murder  the  result  of  conspiracy,  and  the  prisoner  a  con- 

spirator :  — 

1  Page  282  et  seq. 


18  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

(a)  Api5earance  of  premises. 
(6)  Joseph  Knapp's  motive. 
(c)  Testimony,  and  circumstances,  specially,  — 
(rZ)  The  Avill, 

(e)   Long  contemplated  murder. 
(/)  Curious  action  of  the  Knapps,  specially,  — 
((j)  Hiding  of  door  key,  and  Frank's  jiresence  on  the 
eve  of  murder. 

5.  Frank  Knapp  was  present,  aiding  and  abetting  :  — 

(Terms  defined.) 
(o)  Refutation  of  other  motives. 
(6)  Other  refutations. 

(c)  Inferences  from  Frank  Knapp's  presence. 
(f7)  Unsuccessful  attempt  to  prove  alibi. 

6.  The  deadly  weapons  found  ;  inferences. 

(a)  Objections  answered. 

7.  Joseph  Knapp' s  confession  and  retraction  ;  inferences  :  — 

(«)  Testimony  bearing  on  these  inferences. 

8.  Frank  Knapp  confirmed  Joseph  Knapp's  statements,  and 

revealed  his  knowledge  of  the  crime  in  many  ways. 

9.  Conclusions ;  summary. 

10.  Address  to  Jury  ;  must  do  its  duty. 

It  is  likely,  however,  that  Webster's  outline  more 
nearly  resembled  that  prefixed  to  the  speech,  page  282, 
with  ample  references  to  decisions  in  support  of  his  in- 
terpretation of  facts,  of  the  admissibility  and  com- 
petence of  evidence,  and  of  whatever  else  might  come 
into  question. 

The  extended  outlines ^  show:  — 

1.  An  introduction,    in    which  facts    are    presented 

necessary    to  an    understandincr  of    the  dis- 
What  These  -^  r      i 

Outlines         cussiou ;    the    origin    of    the    case,    and   the 

^^°^*  speaker's  relation  to  it;    the   definition  and 

exposition  of  terms,  limiting  the  specific  subject  of  dis- 
cussion. 

1  Pages  350-361. 


THE    PLAN.  19 

2.  A  discussion,  in  which  by  a  series  of  headings 
and  subheadings,  the  method  of  deveh)ping  the  argu- 
ment is  made  intelligible;  the  propositions  which  sup- 
port the  case,  grouped  according  to  some  carefully 
chosen  principle,  and  supported  by  other  propositions. 
At  a  suitable  point,  the  objections,  or  propositions 
which  make  ap-ainst  the  case,  are  stated,  and  the  re- 
futation  is  indicated  in  the  same  manner.  In  general 
the  climax  order  is  followed. 

3.  A  conclusion,  Avhich  in  the  one  case  is  a  set  of 
propositions  embodying  the  results  of  the  discussion, 
closing  with  the  proposition  propounded  at  the  outset; 
and  which  in  the  other,  is  a  summary  and  enforcement 
of  the  results  of  the  discussion,  following  the  answer  to 
possible  objections. 

In  the  outline  of  Burke's  speech  the  method  of 
rhetorical  deduction  is  followed.  In  the  outline  of 
Webster's  speech  the  main  propositions  supporting  the 
case,  are  in  the  inductive  order,  while  subordinate  pro- 
positions are  sometimes  in  the  deductive,  sometimes  in 
the  inductive  order.  In  the  outline  of  Burke's  speech, 
the  conclusion  is  reached  before  the  resolutions,  and  by 
these  and  the  answers  to  objections,  it  is  reinforced  and 
repeated  at  tlie  close.  Tlie  outlines  do  not  show  the 
partition  of  the  proposition,  nor  all  the  summaries  after 
lines  of  reasoning. 

Tlie  natural  sequence  of  the  different  classes  of  argu- 
ments^  will   in  general  control  tlie  order  of 
propositions  in  an  outline.   Arguments  should  ^re^J^ents 
be    so  presented    as    to  be  most  convincing 
singl}*,  and  yet  be  so  grouped  as  to  be  most  effective  in 

1  Page  191,  et  seq. 


20  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AKGUMEXTATIOX. 

combination.  At  the  same  time  they  must  be  so  collo- 
cated and  articulated  as  to  render  most  efficient  aid  to 
the  memory  of  reader  and  hearer.  The  natural  order  of 
arguments  will  be  discussed  later.  ^  Whatever  arrange- 
ment will  best  mark  the  stages  of  argument,  give  the 
clearest  perspective,  and  best  reveal  the  proportions  of 
the  discourse,  will  be  most  helpful  to  the  memor\\ 

The  first  requisite  in  an  outline  is  careful  correlation. 
Elements  of  like  importance  must  occupy  similar  posi- 
tions. Each  argument  going  to  establish  the  original 
proposition,  or  essential  to  the  line  of  reason- 
ing adopted,  should  be  made  a  chief  point 
in  the  outline.  These  arguments,  stated  in  concise, 
clear-cut,  unequivocal  propositions,  should  be  as  in- 
clusive as  is  consistent  with  clearness,  and  as  few  as 
completeness  will  allow.  Sometimes  they  will  coincide 
with  the  partition  2  of  the  original  proposition.  In 
Burke's  speech  on  Conciliation^  there  are  onl}-  eight. 
In  Webster's  speech  at  the  WJiite  Murder  Trials  in  the 
discussion  proper,  there  are  two  general  propositions  — 
and  thirteen  and  seventeen  arguments  respectively  sup- 
porting them.  The  usual  tendency  is  toward  making 
these  secondary  propositions  too  numerous,  taking  ma- 
terial for  them  which  bears  but  indirectly  on  the  state- 
ment to  be  proved,  and  which  should,  therefore,  be 
subordinated  to  another  proposition. 

There    must   be   the   same    accurate    correlation    of 

material    in   support  of   secondary  proposi- 

ti^n*^  "^^"     tions.    Every  statement  subordinated  to  these 

must  bear  directly  upon  them,  and  through 

them  upon  the  general  proposition.    These,  in  turn,  may 

1  Page  191.  2  Page  194. 


THE    PLAN.  21 

be  supported  by  statements,  and  so  on  to  ultimate 
facts  or  evidence  of  facts.  The  number  of  propositions 
will  increase  with  their  distance  from  the  main  propo- 
sition, and  will  vary  according  to  the  character  of  the 
proposition  which  they  go  to  prove.  Clearness,  unity, 
impressiveness  and  power  of  convincing,  are  likely  to 
be  in  proportion  to  the  pains  taken  by  the  writer  in 
this  respect. 

When  no  other  principle  controls,  both  understand- 
ing and  memory  are  aided  by  a  natural  sequence. 
Economy  of   mental    energy  is    thus    secured.     Those 

addressed  are  enabled  to  do  a  part  of  the  work 

Advantage 
for  themselves.     In  narrative    the    order  of  of  Natural 

time  controls.  In  description  the  order  in  ^^*^®^- 
which  details  naturally  present  themselves  to  the  be- 
holder, suggests  the  order  of  presentation  in  w^ords.  So 
in  reasoning,  the  order  in  which  thoughts  grow  out  of 
one  another  or  in  various  ways  suggest  one  another,  is 
also  an  economical  order  of  verbal  presentation. 

Other  things  being  equal,  the  order  of  climax  should 
be  observed.     Climax,  as  a  law  of  arrangement  of  proofs, 
is  of  no  less  importance  than  as  a  law  of  style.     Dis- 
course, especially  expository  and   argument- 
ative, must  be  a  growth.     It  is  more  effective  ^Jfj^ax^ 
if  there  is  a  gradual  increase  of  interest  and 
importance  from  first  to  last.     If  climax  arrangement  is 
impossible  in  the  bod}-  of   discourse,  something  of  the 
same  effect  may  be  secured  by  a  recapitulation  at  the 
close,  concentrating  the  force  of  the  entire  discourse  by 
summarizing  details  in  the  order  of  climax. 

The  chief  divisions  are  landmarks  indicating  the 
general  progress  of  the  discussion.   Subordinate  divisions 


22  THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  ARGUMENTATION. 

mark  tlie  movement  in  shorter  stages.     As  the   latter 

shade  off  into  resfular  discussion,  greater  care 
Principles  of    .  ^  .     '°  . 

Grouping        IS  needed  to  arrange    them  m  the  order  in 

Details.  which  they  will  be  most  easily  and  surely  held 

in  memory.  The  logical  arrangement  of  the  greater 
divisions  will  give  movement  and  effectiveness  to  the 
whole ;  the  grouping  of  lesser  divisions  as  well  as  of 
details,  according  to  the  laws  of  mental  association, 
will  give  coherence,  and  so  enahle  the  memory  most 
easily  to  retain  them.  Ideas  are  associated  in  many 
ways,  as  by  resemblance,  contiguity,  contrast,  cause 
and  effect. 

We  speak  of  the  field  of  thought.  The  figure  sug- 
gests ideas  naturally  lying  near  each  other  in  a  con- 
tinuous course  of  reasoning.  Facts  suggest  closely 
related  facts.  Evidence  suggests  other  evidence  from 
the  same  source  or  to  the  same  effect.  Testimony  from 
one  witness  suggests  like  testimony  from  another  wit- 
ness or  contradictory  testimony  from  the  same.  One 
likelihood  suggests  another  based  on  the  same  reason. 
One  event  suggests  other  events  occurring  at  the  same 
time  or  place,  or  involving  the  same  persons  and  things. 
Personal  characteristics  suo^Q^est  otliers  of  a  like  nature. 
Stinginess  suggests  heartlessness,  benevolence  suggests 
honesty.  Beauty  of  person  suggests  purity  of  mind, 
deformity  suggests  baseness.  Cause  and  effect  are  the 
most  intimate  of  all  associations.  The  healthy  mind 
naturally  inquires  for  a  cause,  an  effect  being  present, 
or  watches  for  effects  when  a  force  is  in  oj)ei-ation.  No 
other  principle  of  grouping  is  so  important  or  so  fre- 
quently employed  in  arguing.  A  marked  example  is 
Burke's  grouping  in  the   passage  against  the  use   of 


THE    PLAN.  23 

force,^  and  the  passage  accounting  for  the  spirit  of  the 
colonies  in  the  Speech  on  Conciliation.^  A  good  example 
of  grouping  by  contrast  is  the  antithesis  between  Burke's 
policy  toward  the  colonies  and  Lord  North's,  in  the  same 
address.^ 

"  If  a  student  take  the  affirmative  of  a  common  debating-club 
proposition,  '  Suffrage  should  be  extended  to  women,'  he  will 
find  after  collecting  his  proofs,  that  they  need  to  be  sorted  and 
arranged.     For  example,  the  following  may  occur  to  him  :  — 

(a)  Woman  suffrage  is  in  successful  operation  in  several 
states. 

(6)  Women  who  pay  taxes  are  entitled  to  representation. 

(c)  On  the  score  of  individualit}^,  women  are  entitled  to  a 
voice  in  public  affairs. 

(d)  More  intimate  connection  with  public  affairs  would  react 
favorably  on  women's  training  of  their  children. 

(e)  Woman  suffrage  tends  to  elevate  the  tone  of  politics. 
(/)  Women  are  not  adequately  represented  at  present. 

It  will  be  seen  on  examination  that  (d)  and  (e)  bear  on  the 
desirability  of  woman  suffrage,  («)  has  to  do  with  its  practica- 
bility, while  (&),  (c),  and  (/)  relate  to  the  justice  of  the 
measure. 

These  arguments  can  therefore  be  arranged  :  — 

1.  Woman  suffrage  is  demanded  by  justice. 

2.  It  is  desirable  for  the  advantage  of 

(a)  The  woman, 

(6)  The  home, 

(c)  The  nation  at  large. 

3.  It  is  practicable."" 

It  is  difficult  to  show  in  an  outline  the  method  of 
transition  from  stag-e  to  stao-e  of  the  discourse,  unless 
the  transition  is  made  by  means  of  a  special 

,  .      ^  "^  ,  ,  ,  Transition, 

paragraph.     And  yet  nothing  conduces  more 

to  mark  the  progress  of  reasoning,  to  give  an  idea  of 

1  Page  25.  2  Select  Works,  I.  178.  »  Ibid,  228. 

4  Educational  Review,  October,  1897,  page  290. 


24  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

unity,  and  to  preserve  the  continuity  of  the  whole, 
than  does  a  natural,  easy,  graceful  transition  from 
one  division  to  another.  If  there  is  a  link  para- 
graph, it  may  be  noted  in  the  plan.  Ordinarily  the 
transition  is  made  by  closing  the  last  paragraph  of 
a  division  with  a  statement  which  reaches  over  into  the 
next  division  and  prepares  the  wa}^  for  it,  or  else  by 
beginning  a  division  with  a  statement  which  reaches 
back  to  something  in  the  preceding  discussion  or  retains 
something  of  what  has  gone  before.  Such  transitions 
cannot  be  indicated  in  an  outline.  How  transitions 
may  be  most  effectively  made  depends  on  the  order  of 
arguments,^  and  must  be  taken  into  account  when  the 
plan  is  made.  Burke  sometimes  reaches  forward,  some- 
times backward:  — 

"I  shall  therefore  endeavor,  with  j^our  leave,  to  lay  before 
you  some  of  the  most  material  of  these  circumstances  in  as  full 
and  as  clear  a  manner  as  I  am  able  to  state  them.  The  first 
thing  we  have  to  consider  with  regard  to  the  nature  of  the 
object  is  —  the  number  of  people  in  the  colonies."  ^ 

"  But  the  population  of  this  country,  the  great  and  growing 
population,  though  a  ver}'  important  consideration,  will  lose 
much  of  its  weight  if  not  combined  with  other  circumstances. 
The  commerce  of  your  colonies  is  out  of  all  proportion  beyond 
the  numbers  of  the  people."  ^ 

He  makes  the  transition  from  the  discussion  of  the 
condition  of  the  colonies  to  their  spirit,  by  the  entire 
passage  of  five  paragraphs  against  the  use  of  force ;  and 
the  transition  from  this  passage  to  the  discussion  of 
the  spirit  of  the  colonies  is  made  by  means  of  a  para- 
graph  the   first  part  of   which  looks    backward  'upon 

1  Page  191  et  seq.  -  Select  Works,  I.  168.  3  Uj-ia^  \Q'd. 


THE    PLAN.  25 

what  has  been  said,  and  the  second  half  of  which,  look- 
ing forward  to  what  is  coming,  paves  the  way  for  it. 

"  First,  Sir,  permit  me  to  observe  that  the  use  of  force  alone 
is  but  temporary.  It  may  subdue  for  a  moment,  but  it  does 
not  remove  the  necessity  of  subduing  again  ;  and  a  nation  is 
not  governed  which  is  perpetual]}'  to  be  conquered. 

"  My  next  objection  is  its  uncertaint}'.  Terror  is  not  always 
the  effect  of  force,  and  an  armament  is  not  a  victory.  If  3'ou 
do  not  succeed,  you  are  without  resource  ;  for,  conciliation 
failing,  force  remains  ;  but,  force  failing,  no  further  hope  of 
reconciliation  is  left.  Power  and  authority  are  sometimes 
bought  by  kindness  ;  but  they  can  never  be  begged  as  alms 
by  an  impoverished  and  defeated  violence. 

"  A  further  objection  to  force  is,  that  you  impair  the  object 
by  your  very  endeavor  to  preserve  it.  The  thing  3'ou  fought 
for  is  not  the  thing  which  you  recover  ;  but  depreciated,  sunk, 
wasted  and  consumed  in  the  contest.  Nothing  less  will  con- 
tent me  than  whole  America.  I  do  not  choose  to  consume  its 
strength  along  with  our  own,  because  in  all  parts  it  is  the 
British  strength  that  I  consume.  I  do  not  choose  to  be  caught 
by  a  foreign  enemy  at  the  end  of  this  exhausting  conflict ;  and 
still  less  in  the  midst  of  it.  I  may  escape  ;  but  I  can  make 
no  insurance  against  such  an  event.  Let  me  add,  that  I  do 
not  choose  wholly  to  break  the  American  spirit ;  because  it  is 
the  spirit  that  has  made  the  country. 

"  Lastly,  we  have  no  sort  of  experience  in  favor  of  force  as 
an  instrument  in  the  rule  of  our  colonies.  Their  growth  and 
their  utility  have  been  owing  to  methods  altogether  different. 
Our  ancient  indulgence  has  been  said  to  be  pursued  to  a  fault. 
It  may  be  so.  But  we  know,  if  feeling  is  evidence,  that  our 
fault  was  more  tolerable  than  our  attempt  to  mend  it ;  and  our 
sin  far  more  salutary  than  our  penitence. 

''These,  Sir,  are  my  reasons  for  not  entertaining  that  high 
opinion  of  untried  force  by  which  many  gentlemen,  for  whose 
sentiments  in  other  particulars,  I  have  great  respect,  seem  to 
be  so  greatly  captivated."  ' 

i  Burke,  Select  Works,  1. 177. 


26  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGIBIEXTATTON. 

The  purpose  of  an  outline  is  to  enable  the  arguer  so 
to  arrange  and  present  his  arguments,  facts  and  illus- 
trations, as  to  be  convincing  and  persuasive  ;  and  in 
addition  to  tliis,  to  make  them  most  easil}^ 
grasped  and  most  firndy  held  in  memory. 
Effectiveness  depends  on  skillful  planning.  Planning 
depends  on  thorough  analysis  of  material.  Analysis 
implies  thorough  mastery  and  full  possession  of  all 
the  facts,  circumstances  and  evidence,  bearing  on  the 
proposition  to  be  established  or  overthrown.  When  an 
adequate  plan  is  conceived  and  completed,  the  arguer 
is  a  long  way  toward  the  completion  of  his  discourse. 
It  is  possible,  however,  that  a  good  plan  ma}^,  through 
slipshod  development,  undei'lie  a  worthless  production ; 
and  it  is  equally  certain  that  a  poor  plan  will  not  give 
the  framework  for  an  excellent  structure. 

II.   BODY  OP  ARGUMENT. 

The  body  of  anj^  discourse  the  aim  of  Avhich  is  con- 
viction or  persuasion,  consists  in  general  of  proposition 
and  proof.     The  proposition  is  that  which  is  put  for- 
ward to  be  proved  or  disproved.     When  es- 

Proposition  ^  ^ 

and  tablished,   it   is    also  called    the   conclusion. 

Proof  is  anything  serving,  immediatel}"  or 
mediately,  to  convince  the  mind  of  the  truth  or  false- 
hood of  a  proposition,  "  the  sufficient  reason  for  assent- 
ing to  a  proposition  as  true.''  ^  Proof  becomes  argument 
when  it  is  used  to  convince  another.  Argument  ^  differs 
from  proof  in  implying  unbelief  which  is  to  be  combated, 
a  proposition  whicli  is  to  be  established  against  the  tacit 
or  avowed  opposition  of  certain  persons.     Many  terms, 

1  Wharton,  Lmo  of  Evidence,  4.  2  Page  73. 


THE   BODY    OF   ARGL^IENT.  27 

like  argument,  proposition,  proof,  definition,  subject, 
have  both  a  logical  and  a  rhetorical  meaning.  They 
are  used  here  in  their  rhetorical  sense. 

Evidence  ^  is  a  portion  of  truth,  "  anything  which  gen- 
erates proof:  any  matter  of  fact  the  effect,  tendency  or 
design   of  which   is   to    produce    in    the    mind  a   per- 
suasion affirmative  or  disaffirmative  of  some 
other  matter  of  fact.  "^     Proof,  in  law,  is  a  ^^^^^^f 
broader  term  than  evidence.     Evidence  in- 
cludes the  reproduction  of  the  admissions  of  parties  and 
of  facts  relevant  to  the  issue.     Proof  includes,  in  ad- 
dition, presumptions  of  law  and  of  fact,  and  citations 
of  law.     Evidence  is  adduced  by  witnesses  and  docu- 
ments; proof  may  be  adduced  by  counsel  in  arguments, 
or  by  the  judge  in  his  charge. 

AVliile  either  a  term  or  a  statement  may  be  the  sub- 
ject of  exposition,  only  a  statement  is  susceptible  of 
proof  or  disproof.  The  subject  of  argumentation,  there- 
fore, must  always  be  expressed  in  the  form  of  ^^^^ 
a  proposition.  Tlie  advocate  may  have  to  Propositions 
make  clear  by  exposition  what  larceu}-  or 
arson  is,  but  he  cannot  argue  the  terms,  "arson"  and 
"  larceny  ;  "  he  can  argue  that  "  the  prisoner  is  guilty  of 
arson,"  or  that  "the  prisoner  is  innocent  of  larceny." 

The  first  business  of  the  writer  or  speaker  who 
would  convince  others,  is  to  have  clearl}^  in  mind  his 
proposition  as  Avell  as  the  logical  processes  by  which 
he  himself  has  come  to  his  belief  regarding  it. 
Indeed,  this  is  an  advantage  whether  the  dis-  proposition, 
course  is  to  be  argumentative,  expository  or 
hortatory.  A  proposition  will  liold  the  writer's  efforts 
1  Page  41.  -  Best,  Evidence,  5. 


28  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUINIENTATION. 

to  a  single  point  better  than  any  mere  term,  however 
clearly  expressed.  President  Robinson  recognizes  this 
in  his  advice  to  young  preachers :  — 

"  The  purpose  of  a  sermon  is  to  enlighten  and  convince,  and 
not  merely  to  entertain  and  please.  The  preacher  is  supposed  to 
have  a  definite  end  in  view.  The  more  direct  his  steps  toward 
it,  the  more  likely  his  auditors  will  be  to  accompany  him.  They 
have  a  right  to  know  what  his  aim  is,  and  to  demand  that  he  shall 
take  a  straightforward  and  open  road  to  reach  it.  He  need  not 
blunt  the  edge  of  their  curiosity  at  the  outset  by  telling  them 
what  all  of  his  arguments  are  to  be  ;  but  the  moment  the  move- 
ment of  his  thought  begins,  it  should  be  movement  with  prog- 
ress. There  are  few  things  of  which  audiences  are  more  im- 
patient than  of  labored  movement  with  no  apparent  advance."  ' 

"  Few  discourses  are  less  interesting  or  less  profitable  to  in- 
telligent people  than  those  which  consist  of  a  series  of  dis- 
connected paragraphs  hung  upon  single  words,  clauses  or  sen- 
tences of  Scripture,  but  disclosing  no  single  principle  that  gives 
harmony  and  unity  to  the  whole.  At  the  outset,  we  are  enter- 
tained, perhaps,  with  a  vivid  description  of  a  bit  of  scenery,  or 
of  some  august  occasion  ;  then  we  have  a  scrap  of  archaeology  ; 
then  a  slight  touch  of  exegesis  ;  then  a  patch  of  doctrine  ;  then 
a  hit  at  physical  science  ;  then  a  word  of  exhortation  ;  then  a 
page  from  ancient  history  ;  then  a  snatch  of  poetry  ;  and  in 
conclusion,  a  contrast  or  comparison  between  the  present  and 
the  time  in  which  the  text  was  written,  —  all  leaving  no  single, 
definite  impression.  "  ^ 

If  a  speaker's  object  is  to  convince,  his  first  step 
toward  that  object,  his  first  precaution  against  confu- 
sion, is  to  set  before  himself  a  definite  proposition,  and 
make  every  utterance  an  advance  towards  its  establish- 
ment. Whether  the  proposition  be  announced  at  the 
beginning  or  held  till  after  some  proofs  are  advanced, 
will  depend  upon  circumstances.     But  it  must  be  clear 

1  Lectures  on  Preaching,  141.  ^  ibici^  145. 


THE    BODY    OF   ARGUMENT.  29 

in  the  arguer's  mind  before  he  can  establish  it  in  the 
mind  of  another. 

The  proposition  should,  if  possible,  be  stated  simply, 
briefly,  and  in  terms  not  only  intelligible  but  unmis- 
takable.     If   from    the    character   of    the    subject   the 

meaninof  of  the  proposition  is  not  perfectly 

.„,  ,.,,  \  /    Necessity 

obvious,  or  it  the  terms  are  liable  to  be  mis-  of  clear 

understood  or  are  susceptible  of  misinterpre-  statement, 
tation,  the  general  meaning  must  be  made  clear  by  ex- 
position or  the  terms  be  made  clear  by  definition.  This 
narrows  the  field  of  discussion.  It  directs  all  efforts 
to  one  point.  It  facilitates  specific  statement  and 
avoids  generalities. 

In  a  debate,  where  both  sides  are  to  be  argued,  addi- 
tional care  is  needed  in  the  statement  of  the  proposition. 
It  must  be  so  worded  as  to  exclude  what  is  admitted  on 
both  sides.  It  must  express  the  exact  issue 
as  understood  by  both  debaters.  The  terms 
of  the  proposition  must  stand  for  the  same  thought 
with  both  speakers.  If  they  do  not,  each  side  is  argu- 
ing an  independent  proposition,  which,  instead  of  con- 
tradicting the  other,  may  only  touch  it  here  and  there  ; 
and  perhaps  each  is  true  or  each  is  false. 

The  definition  of  terms  is  no  easy  task.     Sometimes 
the  dictionaries  give  clear,  simple,  adequate  definitions, 
in  terms  that  are  unequivocal  or  in  synonymous  expres- 
sions.    But  they  often  afford  very  little  aid, 
r  1  in  11  1        Need  of 

for  they  define  mostly  by  synonyms  or  by  Good 
terms  which  themselves  need  defining.     Log-     ^  iii^tion. 
ical  definition  rarely  meets  the  requirements,  since   it 
gives  only  the  genus  and  differentia.     A  good  defini- 
tion should  be  clear,  fair,  adequate,  accurate,  positive, 


30  THE    ESSENTI'ALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

convincing,  and  as  jjrief  as  is  consistent  with  the  other 
qualities.  If  the  definition  is  not  clear,  not  rendering 
the  issue  any  more  apparent,  it  does  not  help  the  reader 
or  listener  to  follow  the  discussion.  If  it  is  not  fair,  it 
does  not  encourage  liim  to  follow.  If  it  is  not  ade- 
quate, there  will  be  gaps  in  coherence.  If  it  is  not 
accurate,  it  does  not  promise  a  reward  for  his  follow- 
ing. If  it  is  negative,  it  gives  little  aid  to  his  fol- 
lowing. If  it  is  not  convincing,  he  ivill  not  follow.  If 
it  is  too  long,  it  takes  attention  and  energy  which 
should  be  given  to  the  discussion.  A  term  may  re- 
quire not  only  definition,  but  analysis  or  elaborate 
exposition,  illustration  by  antithesis,  comparison,  ex- 
emplification or  detailed  description.  On  the  other 
hand,  definition  may  be  carried  to  excess.  It  is  wise 
to  assume  average  intelligence  in  those  whom  we  would 
convince.  The  right  kind  of  definition  limits  the  prop- 
osition, puts  the  debaters  and  the  hearers  on  common 
ground,  and  tends  to  do  away  with  vagueness,  confu- 
sion, and  ambiguous  or  question-begging  terms.^ 

Much  of  the  first  part  of  Lord  Erskine's  argument  at 
the  trial  of  Gordon,^  consists  in  the  definition  and  expo- 
sition of  the  term,  "treason."     The  *  conviction  or  the 

acquittal  of   the  prisoner  depended   on   the 
Erskine,  ^  i  r 

Webster,        meaning  of  that  word.     Webster's  speech  on 
ti   ey.  rpi^^  Constitution  fiot  a  Compact  Betioeen  Sov- 

ereign States^  is  largely  an  exposition  of  the  terms  in  his 
proposition.  Very  rarely,  how^ever,  is  exposition  made 
to  do  the  work  of  argument  throughout  a  long  address. 
When  Huxley,  in  his  Lectures  on  Evolution^^  had  induced 

1  Page  100.        2  British  Eloquence,  637.        ^  Great  Sjjeeches,  273. 
*  American  Addi^esses,  4  30. 


THE    BODY    OF    AEGUMEXT.  31 

a  considerable  portion  of  his  audience  to  accept  his  pre- 
liminary definitions,  he  had  advanced  a  long  way  toward 
securing  their  assent  to  his  theory.  He  stated  the  prob- 
lem of  creation  as  it  has  appeared  at  some  time  to  most 
fair-minded,  thinking  men.  He  defined  the  three  h}-- 
potheses  so  clearly,  so  fairly,  so  adequately,  so  convinc- 
ingly, that  it  was  difficult  not  to  concede  the  reasonable- 
ness of  his  position.  Then,  because  he  depended  upon 
circumstantial  evidence  to  refute  the  old  hypothesis 
and  support  the  new,  he  in  the  same  way  defined 
both  circumstantial  and  testimonial  evidence,  and  ex- 
plained the  unfairness  of  popular  prejudice  against  the 
former.!  Every  hearer  must  have  known  at  the  begin- 
ning of  Huxley's  argument,  exactly  what  was  to  be 
proved,  and  have  been  ready  to  follow  his  proofs  with- 
out prejudice.  Those  who  read  the  lectures  as  they 
are  printed,  and  accept  the  preliminary  definitions  and 
judgments,  find  difficulty  in  rejecting  the  conclusions. 

An  acute  political  writer  thus  explains  the  need  of 
careful  definition,  and  illustrates  one  method  of  defin- 
ing:— 

"At  all  events,  '  doctrine'  is  an  unfortunate  term  —  in  the 
first  place,  because  it  is  not  strictly  descriptive.  But  the  second 
objection  to  it  is  more  serious.  It  is  that  the  term  fell  among 
a  people  bred  in  theological  discussion,  and  accustomed  to  use 
doctrine  as  a  term  of  mystery  and  divine  authority.  Webster 
gives  various  definitions  of  it,  such  as  '  teaching,'  '  instruction,' 
like  '  Christ's  doctrine,'  or  '  a  body  of  principles  of  faith,'  like 
the  '  doctrine  of  atoms,'  or  '  the  doctrine  of  gravitation,'  or  '  the 
doctrines  of  the  Bible.'  He  mentions  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  but 
he  gives  no  definition  of  '  doctrine'  which  will  cover  Monroe's 
recommendation.     In  fact,  in  popular  use,  both  in  Monroe's 

1  Page  (i2. 


32  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUINIENTATION. 

time  and  down  to  our  oAvn  day,  a  doctrine  was  something  which 
had  super-human  authority  behind  it,  and  which  could  not  be 
approached  from  a  purely  mundane  point  of  view.  To  the 
ordinary  'plain  American,'  a  doctrine  is  something  different 
from,  and  much  more  serious  than,  an  opinion,  or  theory,  or 
recommendation;  something  to  be  handled  more  reverently  and 
to  be  accepted  with  less  question.  He  finds  it  difiicult  to  be- 
lieve, therefore,  that  Monroe's  advice  to  interfere  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Spanish-American  states  if  they  are  attacked  by  a 
European  power,  is  a  piece  of  political  advice,  to  be  examined 
(like  every  other)  as  a  piece  of  policy  with  reference  to  time, 
place  and  circumstances,  and  probable  result. 

"  Policy  is  something  intended  for  human  happiness,  and  to 
be  considered  with  reference  to  human  comfort  and  convenience, 
while  doctrine  concerns  the  things  of  the  spirit,  the  unknown 
or  unknowable  concerns  of  the  individual  soul.  A  nation  which 
lives  by  doctrine  is  necessarily,  like  Turkey,  somewhat,  at  least, 
of  a  theocracy.  It  has  often  to  pursue  courses  in  obedience  to 
the  doctrine,  which  are  full  of  misery  for  man  as  a  member  of 
human  society.  A  nation  which  lives  by  policy  or  expediency, 
on  the  other  hand,  asks  itself  at  every  step,  '  Does  this  make 
for  justice,  for  peace,  for  law  ?  Is  it  reasonable  ?  Will  it  increase 
the  burdens  or  promote  the  comfort  of  the  poor  ?  Will  it  cherish 
the  great  interests  of  civilization,  the  spread  of  knowledge,  the 
rule  of  science,  the  feeling  of  brotherhood  among  the  sorely 
tried  and  much  puzzled  nations  of  the  earth  ?  '  Of  all  the  mis- 
fortunes which  can  overtake  a  society,  the  greatest  is  having  to 
live  under  a  dominion  which  cannot  be  discussed,  and  which 
cannot  be  judged  by  its  probable  results. 

"  For  these  reasons,  and  many  others  for  which  we  have  no 
space  here,  we  think  the  chances  of  future  peace  and  order  on 
this  continent  would  be  much  improved  if  we  got  into  the  way 
of  talking  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  as  the  Monroe  Policy,  and 
taught  the  coming  generation  that,  far  from  being  a  thing  to 
die  for,  it  was  a  thing  to  examine  when  the  time  came  for  its 
use,  just  like  taxation,  or  the  liquor  question,  or  good  roads,  or 
judicial  organization.  This  Government  was  founded  first  and 
foremost  for  the  benefit  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and 


THE    BODY    OF    ARGUMENT.  33 

not  for  that  of  Venezuelans,  Guatemalans,  Costa  Ricans,  or 
Chilians.  Monroe  meant  his  doctrine  avowedly  to  subserve, 
before  all  else,  the  safety,  honor,  and  welfare  of  his  own 
country."  ' 

The  proposition  ought  to  be  stated  affirmatively.  A 
negative  does  not  admit  of  the  simple  and  direct  proof 
of  Avhich  the  affirmative  is  capable.  The  difficulty  in 
proving  a  negative  is  recognized  in  the  laws 
of  Burden  of  Proof  and  Presumption.-  In  ^ffirmaUve. 
debate  the  affirmative  side  must  make  out  a 
case.  The  negative  side  meets  the  arguments  proposed. 
So  the  affirmative  both  opens  and  closes  the  debate. 
Burke,  discussing  the  unlawfulness  of  arbitrary  power, 
virtually  a  negative  proposition,  establishes  it  by  exposi- 
tion and  by  positive,  incisive  denials,  quite  as  much 
as  by  reasoning.  Each  of  these  denials  presents  the 
same  difficulty  in  proof  as  the  general  proposition:  — 

"  Xo,  my  Lords,  this  arbitrary  power  is  not  to  be  had  by 
conquest.  Nor  can  any  sovereign  have  it  by  succession;  for  no 
man  can  succeed  to  fraud,  rapine  and  violence.  Neither  by 
compact,  covenant,  nor  submission,—  for  men  cannot  covenant 
themselves  out  of  their  rights  and  their  duties,  —  nor  by  any 
other  means,  can  arbitrary  power  be  conveyed  to  any  man. 
Those  who  give  to  others  such  rights  perform  acts  that  are 
void  as  they  are  given,  —  good  indeed  and  valid  only  as  tending 
to  subject  themselves,  and  those  who  act  with  them,  to  the 
Divine  displeasure;  because  morally  there  can  be  no  such  power. 
Those  who  give  and  those  who  receive  arbitrary  power  are  alike 
criminal;  and  there  is  no  man  but  is  bound  to  resist  it  to  the 
best  of  his  power,  wherever  it  shall  show  its  face  to  the  world. 
It  is  a  crime  to  bear  it,  when  it  can  be  rationally  shaken  off. 
Nothing  but  absolute  impotence  can  justify  men  in  not  resist- 
ing it." 

1  The  Nation,  Jauiiary  30,  189G.  2  Page  34. 


34  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

One  who  argues  independently  must  agree  with  his 
audience,  and  one  who  opens  a  debate  must  agree  with 
his  opponent,  as  to  what  shall  be  taken  for  granted  in 
Burden  of  defining  the  issue.  Judicious  concession 
Presumption  ^i^^i^s  the  question,  shortens  discussion,  and 
Defined.  gives  pouit  to  debate.  An  affirmative  prop- 
osition requires  in  its  support  positive,  constructive 
arguments.  He  who  affirms,  assumes  either  the  non- 
acceptance  or  the  denial  of  his  proposition,  on  the  part 
of  an  opponent  or  of  some  of  those  addressed.  Hence 
the  rule  in  law,  —  "  He  who  affirms  must  prove."  This 
is  called  locating  the  burden  of  proof.  He  upon  whom 
the  burden  of  proof  does  not  rest,  is  said  to  have  the  pre- 
sumption in  his  favor,  —  or  his  proposition  is  taken  as 
true  without  proofs  or  in  advance  of  proofs.  The  loca- 
tion of  the  burden  of  proof  and  the  advantage  of  the 
presumption,  must  be  taken  into  account  in  stating  a 
proposition ;  for  most  subjects  of  argument  may  have 
either  side  stated  affirmatively. 

The  burden  of  proof  lies  with  hhn  who  advocates  a 
change,  whether  in  another's  belief  or  condition,  or  in 
existing  institutions.  In  a  community  believing  in 
special  creation,  Huxley  affirms  that  the  pres- 
of  Proof  ent  condition  of  the  earth  is  the  result  of 
evolution.  He  must  produce  satisfactory 
evidence  to  sustain  his  proposition.  Webster  affirmed 
that  Captain  White  was  murdered  through  a  conspiracy 
in  wdiich  Frank  Knapp  was  concerned.  He  must  ad- 
duce such  proofs  as  to  establish  Knapp's  guilt  beyond  a 
reasonable  doubt.  Knapp  affirmed  an  alihi.  He  should 
have  proved  it.  Burke  affirmed  that  peace  with  the 
Colonies  could  be  best  secured  by  means  of  conciliation. 


THE   BODY   OF   ARGUMENT.  35 

He  was  bound  to  prove  his  proposition.  One  wlio  asserts 
in  court  that  another  owes  him,  and  demands  judgment, 
must  prove  the  indebtedness.  The  legislator  who  pro- 
poses either  a  new  laAV  or  the  repeal  of  an  old  one,  must 
prove  the  advantage  or  the  necessity. 

The  same  rule  which  governs  forensic  argument,  is 
applicable  to  literary  and  scientific  argument.  The  de- 
bater cannot  expect  others  to  change  their  beliefs  with- 
out sufficient  reasons,  any  more  than  the  lawyer  can 
expect  the  court  to  render  judgment,  or  the  jury  to  bring 
in  a  verdict,  without  his  having  produced  sufficient  evi- 
dence. Whoever  proposes  a  new  principle,  theory  or 
condition  must  bring  forward  the  proofs  in  its  favor. 
Should  a  member  of  Congress  propose  tlie  admittance 
of  New  Mexico  to  statehood,  he  must  show  that  the 
Territory  is  qualified  for  the  change.  So  he  wdio  should 
propose  woman  suffrage  in  Iowa  or  its  abolition  in  Utah, 
or  prohibition  in  Wisconsin  or  its  abolition  in  Maine,  or 
the  choice  of  United  States  senators  by  popular  elec- 
tion, or  appointment  of  the  governors  of  States  by  the 
President,  must  show  good  and  sufficient  reasons  for  the 
innovation. 

The  presumption  is  generallj-  in  favor  of  present 
custom,  of  the  side  attacked,  of  the  established  order  of 
things,  of  the  prevalent  practice,  belief  or  opinion,  of  the 
present  condition  of  any  class.  Frank  Knapp 
was  presumed  to  be  innocent  until  he  was  FavorTwe"" 
proved  guilty.  The  practice  of  compelling 
colonies  to  pay  taxes  was  presumed  to  be  most  expedi- 
ent until  a  better  method  was  established.  The  ^^  Mil- 
tonic  "  theory  of  creation  had  the  presumption  in  its 
favor  among  Cliristian  people,  when  Darwin,  Vrallace, 


36  THE  ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

Huxley  and  others,  began  arguing  for  evolution.  In 
the  United  States  there  is  a  presumption  in  favor  of  a 
written  constitution,  quadrennial  election  of  President, 
election  of  senators  by  State  legislatures,  appointment 
of  postmasters  by  the  President,  disunion  of  church  and 
state,  nonsectarian  public  schools,  and  individual  or 
corporate  ownership  of  railroads  and  the  telegraph.  In 
England  there  is  a  presumption  in  favor  of  an  unwrit- 
ten constitution,  an  hereditary  monarch}^,  and  union  of 
church  and  state.  In  German}^  the  presumption  is  in 
favor  of  government  ownership  of  railroads  and  the 
telegraph,  of  sectarian  instruction  in  the  public  schools, 
and  of  beer  as  a  common  beverage. 

A  distinction  is  sometimes  made  between  presump- 
tions like  these,  which  have  a  place  in  argumentative 
discourse,  and  presumptions  of  law  and  assumptions.     A 

presumption  of  law  is  a  rule  prescribed  by  im- 
of  ?aw'  ^^^^  memorial  custom,  decisions  or  legislation,  for 

the  guidance  of  courts.  Judges  are  directed 
to  draw  particular  inferences  from  certain  facts  or  evi- 
dence, sometimes  absolutely,  sometimes  until  the  truth 
of  such  inference  is  disproved.  The  inference  is  that  a 
child  under  seven  years  of  age  cannot  commit  a  crime. 
So  if  a  person  is  proved  insane  or  an  idiot,  the  court  must 
infer  that  his  acts  are  not  criminal.  If  it  is  shown  that 
a  promise  is  secured  by  force  or  duress,  the  court  must 
infer  that  the  promisor  is  not  bound.  Such  presump- 
tions amount  to  conclusive  proof.  If  a  person  has  been 
absent  seven  years,  and  not  heard  from  b}^  those  who 
would  naturally  hear  from  him  if  he  were  alive,  the 
court  infers  his  death,  which,  however,  may  be  dis- 
proved.    The  degree  of  probability  of  the  truth  of  a 


THE    BODY   OF    ARGUMENT.  37 

presumption  varies  from  a  slight  expectation,  to  such 
certainty  as  may  rest  on  the  unchangeableness  of  natu- 
ral laws.  Presumptions  are  based  on  general  human 
experience,  as  also  are  most  assumptions. 

An  assumption  is  the  provisional  or  absolute  accept- 
ance of  the  truth  of  a  proposition  without  reference  to 
proof.  It  may  vary  in  force  from  a  mere  guess  to  the 
certainty  of  a  self-evident  proposition.  As- 
sumptions are  the  ultimate  basis  of  much 
reasoning.  An  hypothesis  is  assumed  as  the  basis  of 
deduction.!  Induction  assumes  that  all  instances  are 
like  those  examined.  In  mathematics  an  assumption 
is  called  an  axiom.  In  practical  affairs  it  is  called  a 
maxim.  In  argumentation  assumptions  shade  off  into 
presumptions.  That  the  whole  is  greater  than  any  of 
its  parts  is  an  axiom.  That  no  man  can  serve  two 
masters  is  a  maxim.  That  men  tell  the  truth  rather 
than  falsehood  is  an  assumption.  That  a  particular 
witness  will,  when  called,  tell  the  truth  in  a  particular 
case,  is  a  presumption. 

Presumptions  and  such  assumptions  as  have  a  place 
in    argumentative   discourse,   then,   var}^  in   force   and 
direction    according  to    their  basis   in  experience,   the 
character   of  the  facts  from  which  they  are 
inferred,  and  the  time  and  place  of  the  infer-  y^rce^^ 
ence.     It  is  assumed  in  America  that  all  per- 
sons are  born  free  and  equal.     This  is  not  an  assump- 
tion of  William  II.   concerning  the  Germans.     It  is  as- 
sumed that  scholars  understand  their  subjects,  and  in 
their  publications  are  candid  and  trustworthy.     A  decade 
ago   there  was  a  strong    presumption    against    woman 

1  Pages  88,  129. 


38  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATIOK. 

suffrage  in  the  United  States.  Now,  the  presumption 
is  quite  as  strong  in  the  opposite  direction.  Other 
presumptions  that  have  changed  with  the  progress  of 
time  are  those  against  the  use  of  bicycles  for  business 
purposes,  the  use  of  electricity  as  a  source  of  light,  as 
a  motor,  and  as  a  heating  agent,  and  the  success  of 
aerial  navigation.  In  Mr.  Gladstone's  mind,i  "  The  fact 
of  existence  carries  Avith  it  tlie  presumption  of  its  con- 
tinuance ;  which  presumption  holds  good  till  rebutted 
by  adverse  presum^Dtion  or  proof."  In  Mr.  Goldwin 
Smith's  mind  this  ]3resumption  is  not  so  strong.  The 
presumption  as  to  the  beneficial  effect  of  free  silver 
upon  the  material  prosperity  of  the  country,  would  be 
different  in  the  mind  of  a  Montana  silver  mine  owner, 
and  in  that  of  a  Kew  York  banker.  Possession  of  the 
private  property  of  a  murdered  person  is  criminative 
evidence  of  a  high  degree,  without  reference  to  what 
the  law  says ;  but  if  he  who  has  the  propert}^  cannot 
satisfactorily  explain  how  he  came  by  it,  the  law  pre- 
sumes that  it  was  taken  in  the  perpetration  and  exe- 
cution of  the  murder.  The  deliberate  publication  of 
calumny  which  the  publisher  either  knows  be  untrue  or 
has  no  reason  to  believe  to  be  true,  raises  a  strong 
presumption  of  malice  :  the  law  makes  this  presump- 
tion conclusive  proof. 

The  shrewd  debater  will  take  advantage  of  the  pre- 
sumption when  possible.     On  matters  of  speculation  or 

mere  theory,  however,  as  well  as  on  matters 
Presumption   ^^'^^^i'^  there  is  no  common  established  opinion, 

and   on  many  matters  of  expediency,  there 
will   be  no  ijresumption.      '  That  the  pleasures  of  hope 

1  XortJi  American  Eevieio,  clxii. 


THE    BODY    OF    ARGUMENT.  39 

are  greater  than  tlie  pleasures  of  memory ; '  '  That  Lin- 
coln was  a  greater  statesman  than  Washington  ; '  '  That 
man  has  an  intuitive  belief  in  the  true  God;'  'That 
there  is  transmigration  of  souls,'  —  are  propositions  of 
this  kind.  Man's  knowledge,  wishes,  preferences  and 
prejudices,  do  not  amount  to  a  jDresumption.  In  such 
cases  the  burden  of  proof  lies  on  him  who  affirms  either 
side. 

In  a  debate  it  becomes  a  matter  of  agreement  as  to 

o 

which  side  shall  be  affirmative  and  which  negative. 
"  It  naturally  devolves  on  the  one  who  opens  the  de- 
bate, after  clearing'  the  PTound  by  stating- 
the  question  m  lull,  with  ail  necessary  am- 
plification, exposition  of  terms  and  jjroposed  limita- 
tions, to  adduce  arguments,  constractive  and  positive, 
and  of  such  force  that  some  of  them  will  be  unanswer- 
able." Of  course,  he  is  at  liberty  to  anticipate  counter 
arguments,  objections  and  refutations.  Such  a  course 
will  tend  to  weaken  the  force  of  those  arguments  when 
they  are  brought  forward  by  an  opponent.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  the  risk  that  it  may  be  only  so 
much  wasted  energy;  ^  for  an  opponent  may  choose  not 
to  advance  the  argument  or  objection  at  all,  though  if 
he  does  tins  simply  because  he  feels  that  its  force  has 
been  already  weakened,  the  energy  can  hardly  be  con- 
sidered wasted.  The  negative  will  be  victorious  if  it 
meets  all  the  arguments  of  the  affirmative.  This  is 
practically  tlie  meaning  of  burden  of  proof  and  pre- 
sumption in  debate. 

It   is   to   the   advantage   of   him    against  whom   the 
presumption  lies,  to  change  this  at  the   beginning  of 

1  Pasre  207. 


40  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

his  discourse,  or  as  early  as  possible.  A  very  little 
evidence  may  suffice  to  raise  a  counter-pre- 
SMftingthe  g^niption,  or  strong  evidence  may  be  re- 
quired, according  to  the  strength  of  the 
presumption  to  be  overcome.  The  presumption  in 
favor  of  a  protective  tariff  may  be  overcome  by  show- 
ing the  abuses  to  which  it  leads,  or  the  greater  advan- 
tages of  a  modified  tariff ;  or  it  may  be  shown  that  the 
prosperity  of  the  country  attributed  to  the  tariff,  is  due 
to  several  other  causes ;  or  that  another  country,  in 
other  respects  like  this,  is  just  as  prosperous  under  a 
system  of  free  trade.  The  presumption  against  woman 
suffrage  may  be  overcome  by  evidence  that  where  she 
has  voted,  the  political  air  has  been  purified,  more 
equitable  laws  have  been  enacted,  and  the  moral  tone 
of  society  has  been  elevated.  This  counter-presump- 
tion, again,  may  be  changed  by  showing  that  the 
purification  of  politics,  the  enacting  of  better  laws 
and  the  moral  elevation  of  society,  are  due  to  other 
influences.  Thus  in  any  debate  the  presumption  ma}^ 
shift  from  side  to  side  with  the  progress  of  the  dis- 
cussion. 

Removing  a  prejudice  is  often  equivalent  to   over- 
coming a  j^i'esumption.     Individuals  and  communities 
usually  have  preferences  and  prejudices  amounting  to 
presumptions  in  favor  of  the  opinions,   po- 

Removing:      Utical,  social,  relig-ious  and  industrial,  with 
Prejudice.  '  '  to  ' 

which  they  have  grown  up,  not  knowing 
or  understanding  others.  Enlightenment  as  to  other 
opinions  may  change  this  prejudice,  or  overcome  the 
presumption. 


EVIDENCE.  41 

III.   EVIDENCE. 

Evidence    is    the    general    name    for    whatever    is 
brought   forward    to  substantiate  a   fact   or    establish 
a  proposition.     It  may  be  a  material  object,  an  action, 
a  quality  or  a  condition,  actuall}^  presented  to 
those  who  are  to  be  convinced.     It  mav  be  a  ^^^^^^^^ 

"  Defined. 

public  document,  an  official  seal,  or  the  oral 
or  w^ritten  testimony  of  witnesses.  It  may  be  such  a 
combination  of  related  facts  and  circumstances  as  will 
admit  of  but  a  single  reasonable  explanation.  It  may 
be  an  opinion  or  interpretation  of  facts  by  one,  who, 
having  given  this  kind  of  matter  careful  examination, 
is  specially  competent  to  testify.  Evidence  is  not 
necessarily  proof;  but  it  may  be  so  presented,  either 
alone  or  combined  with  other  evidence,  as  to  afford 
conclusive  proof. 

Knowledge  at  first  hand,  the  evidence  of  one's  own 
senses  or  consciousness,  is  the  most  convincing.  One 
who  witnesses  a  murder  has  little  doubt  as  to  the  fact 
or  the  method  of  killino-.     Accordino-  to  the 

o  o 

Bible  account,  Jesus  convinced  the  disciples  ^l^f,f^^~ 
of  his  resurrection  by  actually  appearing  to 
them.  Thomas  was  convinced  of  the  Saviour's  iden- 
tity by  an  examination  of  his  wounds.  A  man  who 
on  account  of  long  absence  is  supposed  to  be  dead, 
disproves  the  supposition  by  appearing  alive  to  his 
family. 

"  By  exhibiting  facts  Ex-Governor  Flower  shows  that  the 
collapse  and  ruin  which  have  overtaken  the  country  in  the  last 
twenty-five  years  are  a  mere  figment  of  tlie  fancy.  Tliis  fancy 
is  based  upon  and  appeals  to  the  universal  human  tendency  to 
think  of  the  remote  past  as  '  good  old  times,'  and  to  long  for  a 


42  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

return  to  them.  The  only  way  to  dissipate  it  is  to  appeal  to  the 
actual  facts.  To  the  Watertownians,  just  beginning  to  dream 
of  the  good  old  times  of  1870,  when  they  we]-e  all  so  rich  and 
happy,  Mr.  Flower  speaks  as  follows  :  '  You  now  have  800  men 
emplo3^ed  in  the  manufacture  of  w^agons.  Did  3'ou  have  a  single 
wagon  factor}'  in  1870  ?  Xo.  You  have  now  300  men  engaged 
in  manufacturing  car-brakes.  Did  you  have  a  brake  company 
then  ?  JSTo.  You  then  had  two  jDaper  mills.  How  man}-  have 
you  now  ?  Twenty-seven.  At  that  time  your  poj)ulation  was 
10,000  ;  it  is  now  20,000.  Were  your  wages  higher?  Xot  so 
high.  Were  your  streets  paved  and  sewered?  Xo.'  And  the 
audience  recognized  the  voice  of  truth  in  the  facts  actually  pre- 
sented to  them."  ^ 

Huxley  was  convinced  of  the  successive  steps  in  the 
evolution  of  the  horse  by  seeing  the  fossil  remains  at 
different  stages  of  development. 

Veiy  little  ^Ji'oof,  however,  comes  from  knowledge  at 

first  hand,  or  the  evidence  of  one  s  own  senses.     Juries 

seldom  see  the  crime  committed,  or  are  even  favored 

«  .^  ^  with  the  testimony  of  witnesses  to  a  crime. 
Rarity  of  -^ 

SuchEvi-  The  jury  were  convinced  of  Frank  Knapp's 
complicity  in  the  White  murder,  by  the  tes- 
timou}'  of  witnesses,  not  to  the  fact  of  the  killing,  but 
to  circumstances  bearing  on  the  fact.  We  believe  in 
the  facts  of  history  because  of  our  faith  in  human  testi- 
mony. The  present  generation  knows  there  was  a  Civil 
War  from  the  testimony^  of  those  engaged  in  it.  The 
guilt  or  innocence  of  most  persons  accused  of  crime  is 
established  by  what  is  called  circumstantial  evide.nce,^ 
for  most  crimes  are  not  witnessed  in  detail.  Scientific 
hypotheses  are  necessaril}^  established  in  this  way,  as 
Huxley  explains  in  the  Lectures  on  Evohition, 

1  The  Nation.  2  Page  62. 


EVIDENCE.  43 

Eveiy  kind  of  evidence  varies  in  force  and  validity. 
One  may  be  mistaken  in  the  testimony  of  his  own 
senses.  Much  that  is  seen  or  heard  or  felt  is  misin- 
terpreted. On  entering  a  room  one  thinks 
he  sees  fluted  columns  or  carved  cornices.  tMnessof 
What  he  does  see  is  tlie  figures  of  light  and 
shade,  which  he  misinterprets.  One  thinks  he  sees  a 
friend  enter  a  room.  He  actually  sees  a  person  of  the 
same  size  and  figure  dressed  like  his  friend.  He  mis- 
takes inference  for  fact.  One  seems  to  hear  distant 
thunder:  it  is  the  rumbling  of  a  cart  on  a  bridge.  It  is 
well  known  that  those  who  have  had  limbs  amputated, 
continue  for  a  long  time  to  complain  of  pain  or  cold  in 
the  severed  member.  They  fail  to  interpret  sensations 
according  to  the  changed  conditions.  Strangers  visiting 
the  irrigated  valleys  of  the  west,  almost  invariably 
think  that  the  water  runs  up  hill,  and  that  the  moun- 
tains are  close  at  hand.  The  clearer  air  and  the  steep 
declivities  completely  confuse  the  power  of  correct  in- 
ference. 

If  we  could  separate  observation  from  inference  or  in- 
terpretation, our  senses  would  afford  more  trustworthy 
evidence.  But  the  two  acts  are  too  nearly  simultaneous 
to  be  distinguished ;  we  are  therefore  continually  mis- 
taking our  opinion  or  inference  from  a  fact  for  the  fact 
itself.  When  we  say  we  see  an  object  or  hear  a  sound 
at  a  certain  distance,  Ave  mean  tliat  our  experience  war- 
rants our  placing  the  object  or  sound  at  that  distance. 
Thus  Ave  are  often  quite  unable  to  determine  Avhere  fact 
ends  and  opinion  begins.  The  trustworthiness  and 
force  of  this  kind  of  evidence  Avill  be  in  proportion 
to  the  perfection  of  our  senses,  the  acuteness  of  our 


44  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATIOX. 

observation,  and  the  habitual  caution  which  characterizes 
our  interpretation. 

When  we  accept  the  testimony  of  others  as  evidence, 
we  practically  substitute  their  senses,  consciousness  and 
inferences  for  our  own.  The  credibility  of  this  kind  of 
evidence  rests  on  the  assumption,  based  on 
Qu^ties  of  experience,  that  men  will  tell  what  they  be- 
lieve to  be  true  rather  than  what  they  know 
to  be  false.  In  trusting  to  others'  testimony,  there  is 
still  greater  liability  of  mistaking  opinion  or  interpreta- 
tion for  fact,  than  in  trusting  to  the  testimony  of  one's 
own  senses.  The  fact  and  the  mind  to  be  convinced  of 
the  fact  are  a  greater  number  of  removes  apart.  "  The 
principles  of  testimony,"  says  Erskine,  "  are  founded  in 
the  charities  of  religion,  in  the  philosophy  of  nature,  in 
the  truths  of  history,  and  in  the  experience  of  common 
life."  The  assumption  upon  which  the  general  credi- 
bility of  testimonial  evidence  rests,  does  not  warrant 
our  belief  in  any  particular  witness  on  any  particular 
occasion.  This  belief  will  be  modified  by  the  charac- 
teristics of  each  individual  witness,  —  the  perfection  of 
his  senses,  his  intelligence,  his  power  of  observation 
and  of  interpretation,  his  honesty,  his  memory,  his 
power  of  expression,  and  many  other  circumstances. 
Locke  says,  "In  the  testimony  of  others  is  to  be  con- 
sidered: (1)  the  number;  (2)  the  integrity;  (3)  the 
skill  of  the  witnesses;  (4)  the  design  of  the  author, 
where  it  is  a  testimony  out  of  a  book  cited;  (5)  the 
consistency  of  the  parts,  and  circumstances  of  the  rela- 
tion ;   (6)  contrary  testimonies." 

Other  things  being  equal,  a  witness  with  the  habit  of 
accurate  observation  and  with  keen   senses,  will  give 


EVIDENCE.  45 

the  most  trustworthy  testimony.  Careful  and  minute 
observation  underlies  complete  statement,  careless  Ob- 
"  Contrary  to  the  common  idea,  nothing  is  ^Tfective* 
more  difficult  than  correct  observation  of  the  senses, 
unanalyzed  phenomena  of  nature  and  society.  It  is 
comparatively  difficult  for  an  uneducated  man  to  tell 
the  trutli  regarding  any  phenomenon  or  object  which 
may  have  been  presented  to  him.  This  is  due  in  part 
to  the  incapacity  of  such  a  person  for  the  use  of 
language  in  description ;  but  incapacity  for  accurate 
observation  is  a  still  more  prolific  cause  of  the  diffi- 
culty. The  inadequate  and  contradictory  stories  about 
foreign  countries  told  by  seamen  and  uneducated  trav- 
elers, well  illustrate  this  point.  The  capacity  for  minute 
and  accurate  observation  forms  the  distinctive  charac- 
teristic of  successful  poets,  artists  and  men  of  science. 
The  training  of  the  eye  to  see,  of  the  ear  to  hear,  and  of 
the  hand  to  touch,  forms  the  most  difficult  and  impor- 
tant part  of  education,  and  it  lies  at  the  basis  of  all 
sound  method."  1 

Defective  sight,  hearing  or  touch,  may  interfere 
greatly  with  the  accuracy  of  a  witness's  report.  A 
color-blind  witness  could  hardly  give  competent  testi- 
mony as  to  a  danger  flag  or  as  to  a  lamp  signal,  when 
color  is  the  matter  in  dispute.  The  testimony  of  a  deaf 
witness  would  hardly  convince  a  jury  what  signal  was 
given  by  a  bell  or  a  whistle  at  a  railroad  crossing.  A 
person  with  no  delicacy  of  touch,  and  a  dull  sense  of 
feeling,  might  easily  be  confused  as  to  whether  a  piece 
of  metal — a  knife  or  a  pistol  barrel  —  were  cold  or  wet. 

The  intellectual  powers  of  a  witness  count  for  much. 

1  Anderson,  Lectitres  on  Scientijic  Method. 


46  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

Even  in  common  occurrences  intelligence  is  required  to 
understand  what  actually  takes  place.     Memory  must 

be  accurate  and  retentive  to  recall  the  facts. 
^we^rs*^^^    Power  of  expression  is  needed  to  report  them 

accurately  and  faithfully.  Power  of  inter- 
pretation must  accompany  perception.  Dull  people 
see  ghosts,  and  stupid  people  hear  death  bells  and 
other  warnings.  Simple-minded  people  report  their 
vain  imaginings  for  things  seen  or  heard  or  remem- 
bered. Others  leave  gaps  in  essential  matters,  either 
from  lack  of  perception  or  from  lapses  of  memory.  In- 
definiteness  in  the  meaning  of  words  and  looseness  in 
the  use  of  expressions,  render  testimony  unconvincing. 
An  object  is  light  colored  or  dark,  near  by  or  distant, 
large  or  small,  strange  or  familiar,  to  different  persons. 
A  witness's  character  as  well  as  his  reputation  affects 
his  credibilit}^  The  testimony  of  a  criminal  is  worthy 
of  little  credit,  however  keen  his  power  of  observation 

and  fluent  his  power  of  expression.  A  man 
andReputa-   who  is  known  to  have  lied  once,  is  doubted 

on  future  occasions  though  he  speak  the 
truth ;  and  the  reputation  of  an  habitual  liar  may  ren- 
der his  testimony  worse  than  worthless.  The  value  of 
character  as  well  as  of  intellectual  qualities  in  a  wdtness, 
is  well  shown  in  that  part  of  Webster's  speech,^  in 
which  he  compares  the  respective  claims  of  Colman  and 
N.  P.  Knapp  to  credibility. 

The  value  of  testimony  is  modified  by  the  beliefs  of 

a  witness.  If  he  believes  in  the  return  of  dis- 
Beiiefsf        embodied  spirits,  he  may  testify  to  having  seen 

a  ghost,  when  he  has  seen  only  a  white  ani- 

1  Pages  279,  330. 


EVIDENCE.  47 

mal  or  a  stump  or  a  sign  post,  made  white  by  the  light 
of  the  moon.  To  him,  the  moaning  of  the  wind 
about  an  angle,  the  hum  of  a  telegraph  wire,  the  rub- 
bing of  a  branch  against  a  window  pane,  may  seem  the 
voice  of  the  dead.  His  belief  is  liable  to  keep  him  in 
such  a  mental  condition  as  to  incapacitate  him  for  either 
accurate  observation  or  just  interpretation  of  phenomena 
presented.  One  who  believes  in  supernatural  warnings 
of  coming  disaster,  will  be  all  the  more  susceptible  to 
illusive  appearances ;  and  his  report  will  be  so  much 
the  less  trustworthy. 

Cases  in  which  illusion  is  due  to  beliefs,  are   to  be 
distinguished  from  those  which   are   the   result  of  an 
overworked  or  overstimulated  imagination.    Sir  Walter 
Scott  is  said  to  have  seen  a  phantom  of  the 
dead  Byron.i     Luther's  seeing  the  devil  and  ni^Jo^g. 
hurling  an  inkbottle  at  him,  is  an  historic 
incident.    These  illusions,  however,  would  hardly  affect 
the  testimony  of  these  men  on  any  matters  whatever. 

Trustworthy  memory  will  recall  three  things:  (1) 
that  something  did  really  happen  ;  (2)  that  it  happened 
in  the  way  the  witness  now  thinks  ;  (3)  that  it  happened 
when  and  where  it  now  appears  to  have  hap- 
pened. The  witness's  memory  cannot  be  Jjeml^r^^ 
called  reliable  if  he  is  indefinite  on  any  of 
these  points.  There  are  three  corresponding  illusions 
of  which  even  an  honest  witness  may  be  the  victim : 
(1)  false  recollections  to  which  no  real  events  corre- 
spond; (2)  recollections  misrepresenting  the  manner 
of  happening ;  (3)  recollections  omitting  or  falsifying 
the  date  and  time  of  the  happening. 

1  Sully,  Illusions,  121. 


48  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

Following  the  general  experience  of  mankind,  the 
common  law  rejects  the  testimony  (1)  of  parties  to  the 
record,  (2)  of  persons  deficient  in  understanding,  (3) 

of  persons  insensible  to  the  obligations  of  an 
Witnesses,     oath,  (4)  of  persons  pecuniarily  interested  in 

the  matter  in  issue.  It  presumes  the  testi- 
mony of  an  accomplice  to  be  worthy  of  but  little  credit. 
Self-interest,  whether  of  a  pecuniary,  personal  or  pro- 
fessional nature,  may  conflict  with  the  presumption  that 
a  witness  will  tell  the  exact  truth  on  a  particular  occa- 
sion. Testimony  to  the  genuineness  of  a  will  under 
which  the  witness  inherits;  testimony  to  the  service 
rendered  to  the  country  by  the  political  party  in  which 
the  witness  is  a  candidate  for  office ;  testimony  to  the 
efficacy  of  a  medicine  patented  by  the  witness,  or  the 
superiority  of  the  school  of  medicine  in  which  the  wit- 
ness is  a  practitioner;  testimonials  as  to  the  scholar- 
ship of  students  whom  the  witness  has  helped  to 
educate,  and  in  whose  appointment  he  is  interested,  — 
are  to  be  taken  with  a  degree  of  allowance.  A  wool- 
grower  might  be  too  much  interested  in  the  tariff,  a 
miner,  in  silver,  a  Baconizer,  in  his  theory  of  the 
authorship  of  Shakespeare's  plays,  to  give  trustworthy 
evidence  upon  facts  connected  with  those  matters. 

In  some  cases  the  validity  of  testimony  depends  es- 
pecially on  the  intellectual  character  and  equipment  of 
the  witness.     While  his  honesty  and  desire  to  tell  the 

truth  may  not  vary,  his  thorough  mastery  of 

the  subject,  acquired  by  long  study  and  ex- 
periment is  of  special  importance.  "  On  questions  of 
science,  art,  trade  or  others  of  like  kind,  persons  of 
skill,  sometimes  called  experts,  are  called  not  only  to 


EVIDENCE.  49 

testify  to  facts,  but  to  give  their  opinions  in  evidence. 
Thus  the  opinions  of  physicians  are  constantly  sought 
as  to  the  cause  of  a  disease  or  death  or  the  consequences 
of  wounds,  or  as  to  other  circumstances  best  known 
to  those  skilled  in  the  medical  profession.  But  such 
evidence  is  usually  admitted  only  on  facts  proved^  not 
on  the  general  merits  of  the  case." 

The  statement,  often  made,  that  ordinary  witnesses 
give  testimony  as  to  facts  only,  while  experts  testify  to 
conclusions  from  facts  proved,  is  hardly  correct.  The 
non-expert  gives  the  results  of  processes  of  reasoning 
familiar  to  e very-day  life ;  the  expert  gives  the  results 
of  a  process  of  reasoning  which  can  be  mastered  only 
by  special  scientists.  Thus,  in  disputed  matters  of 
navigation,  experts  may  prove  general  usage.  A  phy- 
sician may  testify  as  to  injuries  to  the  eye,  as  to  the 
effect  of  arsenic,  as  to  the  sanity  or  insanity  of  a  patient ; 
a  chemist  may  be  called  to  testify  as  to  whether  certain 
stains  are  blood,  as  to  the  effect  of  certain  poisons  on 
the  human  system,  as  to  the  effect  of  a  certain  powder 
in  removing  ink  marks  ;  a  surgeon  may  testify  as  to  the 
cause,  probable  effects  and  nature  of  wounds  ;  a  botanist, 
as  to  the  character  and  relations  of  different  kinds  of 
wood ;  a  lawyer,  as  to  court  practice  and  customary  fees ; 
builders  and  carpenters,  as  to  the  safety  of  structures, 
and  so  on.  But  the  specialty  within  which  such  evi- 
dence is  given,  must  be  exclusively  that  in  which  the 
expert  witness  is  skilled. 

The  testimony  of  experts  is  to  be  carefully  scruti- 
nized. This  necessity  is  recognized  in  the  general  em- 
ployment of  experts  on  both  sides  of  a  case.  Not  only 
a  possible  interest  in  one  of  the  parties  to  the  suit,  and 


50  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

inevitable  friendliness  toward  the  source  of  compensa- 
tion, but  his   devotion  to  some   theory,  his 
Care  in  jealousy  of  his  reputation  as  a  scientist,  law- 

yer, or  physician,  his  natural  desire  that  his 
side  of  the  case  be  established,  —  all  this,  granting  him 
to  be  honest,  casts  suspicion  on  the  accuracy  of  an  ex- 
pert's testimony. 

"  When  expert  testimony  was  first  introduced,  it  was  regard- 
ed with  great  respect.  An  expert,  when  called  as  a  witness,  was 
viewed  as  the  representative  of  the  science  of  which  he  was  a 
professor,  giving  impartially  its  conclusions.  Two  conditions 
have  combined  to  produce  a  material  change  in  this  relation. 
In  the  first  place,  it  has  been  discovered  that  no  expert,  no 
matter  how  learned  and  incorrupt,  speaks  for  his  science  as  a 
whole.  Few  specialties  are  so  small  as  not  to  be  torn  by  fac- 
tions ;  and  often,  the  smaller  the  specialty,  the  bitterer  and  more 
inflaming  and  distorting  are  the  animosities  by  which  these 
factions  are  possessed.  Peculiarly  is  this  the  case  in  matters 
psychological,  in  which  there  is  no  hypothesis  so  monstrous 
that  an  expert  cannot  be  found  to  swear  to  it,  and  to  defend  it 
with  vehemence  when  off  the  stand.  In  the  second  place,  the 
retaining  of  experts,  by  a  fee  portioned  to  the  importance  of 
this  testimony,  is  now,  in  cases  in  which  they  are  required,  as 
customary  as  is  retaining  of  lawyers.  Xo  court  would  take  as 
authority  the  sworn  statement  of  the  law,  given  by  counsel 
retained  on  a  particular  side,  for  the  reason  that  the  most  high- 
minded  men  are  so  swayed  by  an  employment  of  this  kind  as  to 
lose  the  power  of  impartial  judgment  ;  and  so  intense  is  this 
conviction  that  in  every  civilized  community  the  reception  by  a 
judge  of  presents  from  suitors,  visits  him  not  only  with  dis- 
qualification but  disgrace.  Hence  it  is  that,  apart  from  the  par- 
tisan temper  more  or  less  common  to  experts,  their  utterances, 
now  that  they  have  as  a  class,  become  the  retained  agents  of 
parties,  have  lost  all  judicial  authority,  and  are  entitled  only  to 
ihe  weight  which  a  sound  and  cautious  criticism  would  award 
to  the  testunony  itself.     In  adjusting  this  criticism,  a  large 


EVIDENCE.  51 

allowance  must  be  made  for  the  bias  necessarily  belonging  to 
men  retained  to  advocate  a  cause,  who  speak  not  as  to  fact^ 
but  as  to  opinion  ;  who  are  selected  on  all  moot  questions, 
either  from  their  prior  advocacy  of,  or  from  their  readiness  to 
adopt  the  opinion  wanted.  In  such  instances  we  are  inclined 
to  adopt  the  strong  language  of  Lord  Campbell,  that  '  skilled 
witnesses  come  with  such  a  bias  on  their  minds  to  support  the 
cause  in  which  they  are  embarked,  that  hardly  any  weight 
should  be  given  to  their  evidence.'  "  * 

Expert  testimony  implies  common  honesty  and  spec- 
ial ability.  Another  kind  of  testimony,  resembling 
this,  but  being  based  more  upon  sound  judgment,  is 
called  authority.     Sometimes  it  is  the  expres- 

«.T..TT.i  .  ^        Authority. 

sion  of  mdividual  judgment,  sometmies  the 
combined  judgment  of  man}-,  and  sometimes  an  estab- 
lished record  accepted  as  ultimate  proof  by  com- 
munities, sects  and  states.  Expert  testimony  settles 
single  cases ;  authority  establishes  facts  or  principles. 
No  man,  though  he  must  act  on  them,  can  investigate 
and  settle  for  himself  all  the  questions  arising  in  his 
mind,  and  whenever  they  arise.  He  therefore  accepts 
the  conclusions  arrived  at  b}'  others  whose  competence 
he  trusts,  or  conclusions  reached  by  himself  on  some 
other  occasion. 

Webster's  opinions  were  received  with  great  defer- 
ence in  the  courts,  as  those  of  a  high  authority  on 
constitutional  law.  "Whenever  he  gives  emphasis  to 
the  personal  pronoun,  the  reader  feels  that  he  had  as 
much  earned  the  right  to  make  his  o[)inion  an  au- 
thority, as  he  had  earned  the  right  to  use  the  words  he 
employs  to  express  his  ideas  and  sentiments.  Thus  at 
the  celebrated  Smith  Will  Trial,  his  antagonist,  Mr. 
Choate,  quoted  a  decision  of  Lord  Chancellor  Camden. 

1  Wliartoii,  Law  of  Evidence,  425. 


52  THE  ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

In  his  reply,  Webster  argued  against  its  validity  as 
though  it  were  merely  a  proposition  laid  down  by  Mr. 
Choate.  '  But  it  is  not  mine,  it  is  Lord  Camden's,'  was 
the  instant  retort.  Webster  paused  for  half  a  minute, 
and  then,  w4th  his  eye  fixed  on  the  presiding  judge,  he 
replied :  '  Lord  Camden  was  a  great  judge ;  he  is  re- 
spected by  every  American,  for  he  was  on  our  side  in 
the  Revolution ;  but,  may  it  please  your  honor,  /  differ 
from  my  Lord  Camden.'  There  was  hardly  a  lawyer  in 
the  United  States  who  could  have  made  such  a  state- 
ment without  exposing  himself  to  ridicule ;  but  it  did 
not  seem  at  all  ridiculous  when  the  '  I '  stood  for  Daniel 
Webster. "  ^  This  is  an  extreme  case.  In  most  of 
Webster's  forensic  speeches  he  frequently  appeals  to 
authority,  ^  that  is,  to  decisions  of  courts  or  instances  of 
legislation,  and  to  the  Constitution  itself. 

Among  orthodox  Christians  the  Bible  is  the  ultimate 
authority  on  matters  of  revealed  religion ;  among  the 
Mohammedans,  the  Koran ;    among  the  Mormons,  the 

Book  of  Mormon,  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
AutSrit/.^    nants  and  the  Word  of  Wisdom.     Among 

lawyers,  the  Constitution,  the  decisions  of 
courts,  and  the  interpretations  of  learned  jurists,  consti- 
tute a  body  of  authority.  In  medicine,  in  science,  in 
education,  authority  is  furnished  by  the  opinions  of 
those  recognized  as  possessing  the  most  marked  ability 
and  the  sanest  judgment,  and  arriving  at  conclusions 
by  the  most  careful  investigation  or  experiment.  When 
there  is  a  conflict  of  authorities,  as  there  often  is  in  every 
realm  of  thought  and  activity,  a  decision  usually  rests 

1  E.  P.  "Whipple,  Introduction  to  Great  Speeches,  Ixiii. 
2  Pages  288,  30(3,  308,  313. 


EVIDENCE.  63 

on  the  preponderance  of  authority,  or  a  preponderance 
of  probability  from  other  sources. 

The  appeal  to  authority  may  be  abused  in  several 
ways.     What  was  authority  in  certain  circumstances 
may   not   be    such   under   other   conditions. 
Too  much  stress  may  be  placed  on  single  ^^thorfty 
opinions,  or  those  may  be  cited  as  authorities 
on  a  special  case,  who  are  authorities  only  on  the  general 
principle  or  not  at  all. 

Many  other  circumstances  attending  the  testimony  of 
a  witness  affect  its  value.  These  may  induce  him  to  be 
truthful  or  afford  motives  for  evasion  or  perversion  of 
truth.  Unwilling  testimony,  given  in  the  in- 
terests of  truth  and  not  under  compulsion  of  Jes^^^E 
any  kind,  —  testimony  to  facts  making  against 
the  witness's  interest,  prejudices,  theories,  desires,  —  is 
considered  specially  valuable.  A  witness  testifying  to 
the  genuineness  of  a  will  that  disinherits  him ;  to  acts 
which  would  help  convict  his  best  friend  of  a  crime ;  to 
the  ability,  honesty  and  fitness  for  office  of  his  rival ;  to 
the  efficiency  of  an  institution  the  patronage  of  which 
must  lessen  that  of  his  own  ;  to  the  cures  wrought  by  a 
rival  physician ;  to  the  justice  of  a  government  which 
has  banished  him,  or  of  a  chief  who  has  dismissed  him 
from  office,  —  would  be  worthy  of  great  credit.  The 
testimony  of  Bible  scholars  who  have  always  advocated 
the  theory  of  special  creation,  that  Genesis  and  geology 
are  not  inconsistent,  and  that  tlie  Bible  account  is  on  the 
whole  favorable  to  evolution,  is  strong  evidence.  Had 
Joseph  Knapp's  confession  ^  that  he  was  a  party  to  the 
murder  of  Captain  White  been  put  in  evidence,  as  was 

1  Page  279. 


54  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

intended,  it  would  have  had  great  weight  notwithstand- 
ing its  advantage  ^  to  himself.  Lord  North's  measure 
looking  toward  the  relief  of  the  Americans  from  the 
imposition  of  taxes,  was  good  evidence  of  the  weakness 
of  the  position  of  parliament.  The  testimony  of  capi- 
talists and  employers  to  the  many  points  of  excellence 
in  the  various  labor  organizations,  would  be  much  more 
convincing  than  any  evidence  offered  by  members  them- 
selves. 

A  distinction  is  to  be  made  between  reluctant  testi- 
mony and  forced  testimony.  The  validity  of  evidence 
given  under  compulsion  is  doubtful.       Galileo  under 

torture  was  not  "the  devout  astronomer." 
Testimony.     Physical   suffering  or   fear  for  one's  self  or 

for  others  nearly  related,  may  overcome  the 
scruples  of  the  most  conscientious.  The  fear  of  physi- 
cal harm  induced  Abraham  to  tell  the  Egyptians  that  his 
wife  was  his  sister.  Not  only  the  confessions  of  those 
accused  of  witchcraft,  but  much  of  the  testimou}^  against 
them,  were  secured  by  torture  :  subsequent  history  shows 
how  false  were  both.  Moral  courage  and  physical  en- 
durance must  have  been  possessed  to  an  almost  miracu- 
lous degree  to  prevent  false  testimony  from  witnesses 
subjected  to  the  pains  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition.  The 
evidence  in  favor  of  the  truth  of  what  is  related  in  the 
Gospels,  is  greatly  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  no  suf- 
fering could  extort  from  the  authors  anything  contradic- 
tory to  those  incidents. 

Incidental  or  undesigned  testimony  is  worthy  of 
special  consideration.  A  witness  sometimes  makes  a 
statement,  not  thinking  or  not  knowing  its  bearing  on 

1  He  was  to  secure  immunity  by  turning  State's  evidence. 


EVIDENCE.  55 

the  case ;  or  a  writer  refers  to  something  as  if  it  were 
too  well  known  to  need  more  than  an  allu- 
sion.    A  boy  whose  direct  testimony  as  to  his  ?es*timony* 
foster-father's  kindness  could  not  be  shaken, 
remembered  a  certain  event  "because  it  happened  the 
morning  his  father  knocked  him  down  with  a  hammer." 
Those  AAdio  fabricate  a  story  take  most  pains  with  what 
seems  to  them  most  important,  when,  in  fact,  it  is  the 
minor  details  that  mark  most  distinctly  the  true  or  the 
false.     A  single  detail  from  fact  may  destroy  the  whole 
fabric  of  fiction.     The  nature  and  force  of  undesigned 
evidence  is  illustrated  in  an  editorial  comment  on  an 
incident  of  the  Cronin  murder  trial:  — 

"  Maroney  is  reported  as  saying  that  '  there  was  not  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Clan-na-Gael  but  that  wanted  the  murderers  of  Dr. 
Cronin  discovered  and  punished  ' ;  and  he  added  :  '  The  records 
of  the  Clan-na-Gael  will  show  that  I  have  always  opposed 
murders,  or  assassinations,  for  revenge  or  for  any  cause  what- 
ever.' This  is  the  most  significant  and  startling  confession  j'et 
made.  That  it  was  unpremeditated,  and  uttered  while  the 
speaker  was  apparently  in  a  state  of  considerable  excitement, 
if  not  alarm,  is  evident;  and  that  adds  to  its  importance.  The 
inference  is  inevitable.  If  the  records  of  the  Clan-na-Gael 
show  that  Maroney  '  always  opposed  murders  and  assassinations 
for  revenge,'  they  must  show  that  measures  of  murder  and 
assassination  were  considered  by  the  Clan-na-Gael,  and  were 
an  essential  part  of  its  methods."  ' 

Maroney's  testimony  illustrates,  also,  what  is  usually 
called  a  hurtful  admission.     He  inadvertent- 
ly admits  that  mui-der  is  a  recognized  method  Admissions, 
with  the  clan.  The  Vanderpool  case^  affords 

1  Chicago  Herald. 

^  "  One  year  ago  Field  had  a  capital  of  S7,000  ;  Vanderpool 
$2,300  ;  bankers  on  a  slender  capital.    They  became  dissatisfied. 


56  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

another  illustration.  The  prisoner  admitted  that  lie  was 
in  the  bank  with  Field  the  last  time  the  missing  man 
was  seen  ;  that  he  forged  the  books  ;  that  he  took  up  the 
carpet  and  burned  it  ;  that  he  scoured  the  floors  and 
counters  to  efface  bloody  spots ;  that  he  wore  a  pair  of 
Field's  trousers  because  there  was  blood  on  his  own ; 
that  he  was  unable  to  account  for  his  whereabouts  dur- 
ing the  entire  evening  when  Field's  body  was  presumably 


Field  commenced  to  draw  out.  Yanderpool  distrusted  him. 
He  took  his  money  home  to  keep  it  nights.  He  changed  the 
combination  lock.  He  claims  Field  as  a  defaulter.  But  two 
men  swear  the  books  were  tampered  with.  Friend  saw  them 
Saturday;  Ellis  on  Monday.  They  were  changed,  S400  to 
SI ,400;  S700  to  $1,700.  Here  was  the  motive.  He  admitted 
the  forgery.  Without  the  forgeries,  Field  had  a  credit  of  $3,- 
679.38  on  Saturday  night.  The  greed  of  gain  and  fear  of  ruin 
made  the  motive.  It  was  Yanderpool.  The  opportunit}'  was 
ample.  They  were  alone  ;  curtain  down.  The  means  was  the 
hatchet.  It  was  marked  with  blood  and  fitted  the  wound.  Field 
was  seen  going  in  and  was  never  seen  out  again  alive.  There 
were  his  shirt  cuffs,  his  envelopes,  letters,  papers,  pocket-book, 
books  with  forgeries,  and  human  blood  !  Blood  on  the  floor,  on 
the  carpet,  on  papers,  on  stairs;  cracks  of  the  floor  were  filled 
with  blood,  covered  all  over  with  fresh  ink  !  Where  is  the  car- 
pet ?  Burned  !  Where  are  the  clothes  ?  Burned  !  By  whom  ? 
Yanderpool !  From  the  bank  he  went  with  Field's  clothes  on; 
in  the  bank  were  found  the  bloody  spots  ;  in  the  bank  the  charred 
remains  of  carpet,  trousers  and  vest  and  shirt !  At  the  bank, 
and  cleaning  up,  was  Yanderpool  on  Monday  before  the  dawn. 
From  all  these  facts  but  one  inference  is  drawn:  that  Herbert 
Field  was  murdered  in  the  bank,  and  George  Yanderpool  knew 
it,  for  he  was  there.  He  cleaned  the  blood  ;  he  cut  the  carpet ; 
he  scrubbed  the  floor  ;  he  burned  the  hay  and  carpet.  The 
destruction  of  evidence  of  a  crime  is  confession  of  crime."  — 
Modern  Jury  Trials,  281. 


EVIDENCE.  57 

being  disposed  of.     These  admissions  formed  an  almost 
perfect  chain  of  proof  against  him. 

In    the    testimony  of   a  witness,  as  in  historical  or 
fictitious  narrative,  an  incidental  allusion  is  often  more 
effective  than  a  direct  statement  or  explanation.     Con- 
fidence in  the  story  of  an  historian,  and  veri- 
similitude in  fiction  are  often  weakened  or  jesti^o^ny. 
destroyed  by  the  writer's  attempt  to  fortify 
statements  and  suggestions  which  if  let  pass  would  go 
unquestioned.     A  casual  allusion,  a  chance  reference, 
imply  a  common  knowledge  of  that  to  which  allusion 
or  reference  is  made.     Swift's  allusion  to  Defoe  as  "the 
fellow  that  was  pilloried,  I  have  forgotten  his  name," 
testifies  to  a  customary  mode  of  punishment.     Homer 
incidentally  testifies  to  the  practice  of  paying  ransom  to 
him  whose  friend  one  had  slain,  and  mentions  the  amount 
of  the  ransom :  — 

"  Meanwhile  a  multitude 
Was  in  the  forum,  where  a  strife  went  on,  — 
Two  men  contending  for  a  fine,  the  price 
Of  one  who  had  been  slain.     Before  the  crowd 
One  claimed  that  he  had  paid  the  fine,  and  one 
Denied  that  aught  had  been  received,  and  both 
Called  for  the  sentence  which  should  end  the  strife. 
The  people  clamored  for  both  sides,  for  both 
Had  eager  friends ;  the  heralds  held  the  crowd 
In  check ;  the  elders,  upon  polished  stones. 
Sat  in  a  sacred  circle.     Each  one  took, 
In  turn,  a  herald's  sceptre  in  his  hand, 
And,  rising,  gave  his  sentence.     In  the  midst 
Two  talents  lay  in  gold,  to  be  the  meed 
Of  him  whose  juster  judgment  should  prevail."  i 

The  practice  of  ransoming  prisoners  and  slaves  among  eastern 
1  Bryant's  Homer's  Iliad,  xviii.  621. 


68  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

peoples  is   indicated   in  Bomola  hy  calling  a  certain  precious 
stone  '"the  ransom  of  a  man."' 

"The  account  given  by  Herodotus  of  Xerxes'  cutting  a 
canal  through  the  Isthmus  of  Athos,  which  is  ridiculed  by- 
Juvenal,  is  much  more  strongly  attested  by  Thucydides  in  an 
incidental  mention  of  a  place  '  near  which  some  remains  of  the 
canal  might  be  seen,'  than  if  he  had  distinctly  recorded  his 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  the  narrative."  ^ 

Where  there  would  be  a  presumption  that  if  an  in- 
stitution had  existed,  an  incident  had  occurred,  a 
belief  had  been  held,  or  the  like,  it  would  have  been 

«     ,,  mentioned,  the  absence  of  such  testimony  is 

Negative  ' 

Testimony  considered  evidence  of  non-existence  or  non- 
occurrence. The  absence  of  any  direct  men- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  in  the  writings  of 
Moses,  has  been  considered  proof  that  the  Jews  did  not 
believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  This  is  called 
the  testimony  of  silence,  or  negative  testimon3\  The 
absence  for  several  generations  of  any  mention  of 
Bacon  as  the  author  of  Shakespeare's  plays,  is  strong 
evidence  against  the  Baconian  theory  of  authorship. 
Nothing  is  said  in  the  New  Testament  about  the  de- 
fective eyesight  of  any  of  the  disciples ;  a  certain  artist, 
therefore,  was  probably  indulging  a  fancy  when  he 
painted  some  of  them  wearing  spectacles. ^  If  a  title  of 
a  book  is  not  found  in  a  certain  publisher's  catalogue,  it 
is  probably  the  publication  of  some  other  house.  Prop- 
erty not  named  in  a  will  along  with  other  property, 
was  probably  not  owned  by  the  testator.  A  declara- 
tion in  the  presence  of  a  party  to  a  cause  becomes 
evidence,  as  showing  that  the  party,  on  hearing  such  a 

1  George  Eliot,  Romola,  Chap.  ix.  2  Whately,  Rhetoric,  84. 

8  Rubens,  Mary  Anointiny  the  Feet  of  Jesus. 


EVIDENCE.  59 

statement,  did  not  deny  its  truth.  If  one  is  silent 
when  he  ought  to  have  denied,  the  presumption  of 
acquiescence  arises.  Failure  to  respond  when  sum- 
moned to  defend  a  suit  at  law,  is  considered  as  confes- 
sing the  claim.  The  absence  from  the  college  records 
of  the  name  of  a  person  who  claims  to  have  been  a  stu- 
dent or  resident  at  the  college,  raises  a  strong  presump- 
tion against  his  claim.  This,  according  to  Mr.  Collins, 
is  the  case  of  Bolingbroke. 

Burke  argues  that  the  absence  of  evidence  to  show 
the  quarrel  of  the  Colonies  to  be  with  the  trade-laws, 
makes    it   necessary   to    assign    some    other 
cause    for   their    resistance    to    England,  —  Example, 
as  taxation.     He  affords  other  examples  of 
argument  from  silence  in  the  same  speech :  — 

"  We  see  the  sense  of  the  Crown,  and  the  sense  of  parlia- 
ment, on  the  productive  nature  of  a  revenue  by  grant.  Now 
search  the  same  journals  for  the  produce  of  the  revenue  hy 
imposition.  Where  is  it  ?  Let  us  know  the  volume  and  the 
page.  What  is  the  gross  ;  what  is  the  net  produce  ?  To  what 
service  is  it  applied  ?  How  have  you  appropriated  its  surplus  ? 
What !  Can  none  of  the  many  skillful  index-makers  that  we 
are  now  employing  find  any  trace  of  it?  Well,  let  them  and 
that  rest  together,  But  are  the  journals  which  say  nothing  of 
the  revenue,  as  silent  as  to  the  discontent?  Oh,  no  !  a  child 
may  find  it.  It  is  the  melancholy  burthen  and  blot  of  every 
page."  ' 

Where  there  has  been  no  opportunity  for  collusion, 
the  independent   testimony  of   several    wit-  concurrent 
nesses  to  the  same  essential  facts,  is  much  Testimony. 

Discrepan- 
stronger  than  that  of  a  single  witness.   They  cies. 

might  all   agree   by  accident ;    but   this   is   less   likely 

1  Select  Works,  I.  216. 


60  THE  ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

than  that  they  all  tell  the  truth.  Even  if  there  has 
been  an  agreement  as  to  what  they  are  to  say,  some 
are  likely  to  forget  or  to  weaken  under  cross-examina- 
tion, when  telling  a  fabricated  story,  and  so  be  detected. 
If  upon  comparing  the  testimony  of  different  witnesses,^ 
such  grave  discrepancies  are  found  in  essential  matters 
that  all  cannot  be  telling  the  truth,  then  account  must 
be  taken  of  the  powers,  habits,  intelligence  and  char- 
acter of  the  different  persons  testifying.  There  may  be 
agreement  in  essential  details  and  differences  in  mi- 
nor matters,  and  these  differences  may,  on  the  whole, 
strengthen  the  general  probability;  for  under  differ- 
ent circumstances,  witnesses  may  see  things  from  a 
different  point  of  view,  and  with  different  powers  of 
observation  and  interpretation.  When  the  matter  tes- 
tified to  consists  of  many  details,  it  is  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  several  witnesses  will  agree  in  all  mi- 
nute particulars.  Professor  Greenleaf  makes  this  clear 
in  the  following  passage  from  his  Examination  of  the 
Testimony  of  the  Four  Evangelists  :  — 

"In  the  third  place,  as  to  their  number  and  the  consistency 
of  their  testimony.  The  character  of  their  narratives  is  like 
that  of  all  other  true  witnesses,  containing,  as  Dr.  Paley  ob- 
serves, substantial  truth,  under  circumstantial  variety.  There 
is  enough  of  discrepancy  to  show  that  there  could  have  been 
no  previous  concert  among  them  ;  and  at  the  same  time  such 
substantial  agreement  as  to  show  that  they  all  were  indepen- 
dent narrators  of  the  same  great  transaction,  as  the  events 
actually  occurred.  .  .  ,  The  discrepancies  between  the  narra- 
tives of  the  several  evangelists,  when  carefully  examined,  will 
not  be  found  sufficient  to  invalidate  their  testimony.  Many 
seeming  contradictions  will  prove,  upon  closer  scrutiny,  to  be 
in  substantial  agreement ;  and  it  may  be  confidently  asserted 

1  Page  U. 


EVIDENCE.  61 

that  there  are  none  that  will  not  yield,  under  fair  and  just 
criticism.  If  these  different  accounts  of  the  same  transactions 
were  in  strict  verbal  conformity  with  each  other,  the  argument 
against  their  credibility  would  be  much  stronger.  All  that  is 
asked  for  these  witnesses  is,  that  their  testimony  may  be 
regarded  as  we  regard  the  testimony  of  men  in  the  ordinaiy 
affairs  of  life.  This  they  are  justly  entitled  to  ;  and  this  no 
honorable  adversary  can  refuse.  ...  If  the  evidence  of  the 
evangelists  is  to  be  rejected  because  of  a  few  discrepancies 
among  them,  we  shall  be  obliged  to  discard  that  of  many  of 
the  contemporaneous  histories  on  which  we  are  accustomed  to 
rely.  Dr.  Paley  has  noticed  the  contradiction  between  Lord 
Clarendon  and  Burnet  and  others  in  regard  to  Lord  Strafford's 
execution  ;  the  former  stating  that  he  was  condemned  to  be 
hanged,  which  was  done  on  the  same  day  ;  and  the  latter  all 
relating  that  on  a  Saturday  he  was  sentenced  to  the  block,  and 
was  beheaded  on  the  following  Monday.  Another  striking 
instance  of  discrepancy  has  since  occurred,  in  the  narratives 
of  the  different  members  of  the  royal  family  of  France,  of 
their  flight  from  Paris  to  Yarennes,  in  1792.  These  narratives, 
ten  in  number,  and  by  eye-witnesses  and  personal  actors  in 
the  transactions  they  relate,  contradict  each  other,  some  on 
trivial  and  some  on  more  essential  points,  but  in  every  case 
in  a  wonderful  and  inexplicable  manner.  Yet  these  contra- 
dictions do  not,  in  the  general  public  estimation,  detract  from 
the  integrity  of  the  narrators,  nor  from  the  credibility  of  their 
relations.  In  the  points  in  which  they  agree,  and  which  con- 
stitute the  great  body  of  their  narratives,  their  testimony  is,  of 
course,  not  doubted  ;  where  they  differ,  we  reconcile  them  as 
well  as  we  may,  and  where  this  cannot  be  done  at  all,  we 
follow  that  light  which  seems  to  us  the  clearest."  ^ 

A  distinction  sometimes  made  between   direct  and 

circumstantial   evidence  and  between  testimonial  and 

indirect  evidence,  is  confusing.     The  distinction  should 

rather  be  between  direct  and  indirect,  and  between  testi- 

1  Quoted  by  Professor  Genung. 


62  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

monial  and  circumstantial,  evidence ;  for  either  testimo- 
nial or  circumstantial  evidence  may  be  direct, 
Direct  and  J  ' 

Indirect         and    either   may    be    indirect.       Direct   evi- 

®'^"'  dence  is  such  as  applies  immediately  to  the 
case  in  dispute.  Indirect  evidence  bears  upon  some 
fact  or  circumstance  which  in  turn  has  a  bearing  upon 
the  case  in  question.  Testimonial  evidence  is  that  pro- 
duced by  human  witnesses ;  circumstantial  evidence  is 
such  as  comes  from  other  sources.  The  superiority 
usually  attributed  to  testimonial  or  direct  evidence  over 
circumstantial  or  indirect,  is  frequently  overestimated. 
The  following  passages  from  a  scientific  investigator, 
a  juridical  reasoner,  and  a  writer  of  fiction,  respectively, 
make  clear  the  meaning  and  relative  value  of  these 
kinds  of  evidence :  — 

"  The  evidence  as  to  the  occurrence  of  any  event  in  past 
time  may  be  ranged  under  two  heads  which,  for  convenience' 
sake,  I  will  speak  of  as  testimonial  evidence  and  circumstantial 

evidence.  By  testimonial  evidence  I  mean  human 
andCircum-  testimony;  and  by  circumstantial  evidence  I  mean 
stantialEvi-  evidence  which  is  not  human  testimony.  Let  me 
dence.  illustrate  by  a  familiar  example  what  I  understand 

by  these  two  kinds  of  evidence,  and  what  is  to  be 
said  respecting  their  value. 

"  Suppose  that  a  man  tells  you  that  he  saw  a  person  strike 
another  and  kill  him  ;  that  is  testimonial  evidence  of  the  fact  of 
murder.  But  it  is  possible  to  have  circumstantial  evidence  of 
the  fact  of  murder  ;  that  is  to  say,  you  may  find  a  man  dying 
with  a  wound  upon  his  head  having  exactly  the  form  and  char- 
acter of  the  wound  which  is  made  by  an  axe,  and,  with  due  care 
in  taking  surrounding  circumstances  into  account,  you  may  con- 
clude with  the  utmost  certainty  that  the  man  has  been  mur- 
dered ;  that  his  death  is  the  consequence  of  a  blow  inflicted  by 
another  man  with  that  implement.     We  are  very  much  in  the 


EVIDENCE.  63 

habit  of  considering  circumstantial  evidence  as  of  less  value 
than  testimonial  evidence;  and  it  may  be  that,  where  the  cir- 
cumstances are  not  perfectly  clear  and  intelligible,  it  is  a  dan- 
gerous and  unsafe  kind  of  evidence;  but  it  must  not  be  forgot- 
ten that,  in  many  cases,  circumstantial  is  quite  as  conclusive  as 
testimonial  evidence,  and  that,  not  unfrequently,  it  is  a  great 
deal  weightier  than  testimonial  evidence.  For  example,  take 
the  case  to  which  I  referred  just  now.  The  circumstantial 
evidence  may  be  better  and  more  convincing  than  the  testi- 
monial evidence;  for  it  may  be  impossible,  under  the  conditions 
that  I  have  defined,  to  suppose  that  the  man  met  his  death 
from  any  cause  but  the  violent  blow  of  an  axe  wielded  by  an- 
other man.  The  circumstantial  evidence  in  favor  of  a  murder 
having  been  committed,  in  that  case,  is  as  complete  and  as 
convincing  as  evidence  can  be.  It  is  evidence  which  is  open 
to  no  doubt  and  to  no  falsification.  But  the  testimony  of  a 
witness  is  open  to  multitudinous  doubts.  He  may  have  been 
mistaken.  He  may  have  been  actuated  by  malice.  It  has 
constantly  happened  that  even  an  accurate  man  has  declared 
that  a  thing  has  happened  in  this,  or  that,  or  the  other  way, 
when  a  careful  analysis  of  the  circumstantial  evidence  has 
shown  that  it  did  not  happen  in  that  way,  but  in  some  other 
way.'^  ' 

"  The  distinction,  then,  between  direct  [testimonial]  and  cir- 
cumstantial evidence,  is  this.  Direct  or  positive  evidence  is 
when  a  witness  can  be  called  to  testify  to  the  precise  fact  which 
is  the  subject  of  the  issue  in  trial;  that  is,  in  a  case 
of  homicide,  that  the  party  accused  did  cause  the 
death  of  the  deceased.  Whatever  may  be  the  kind  or  force  of 
the  evidence,  this  is  the  fact  to  be  proved.  But  suppose  no 
person  was  present  on  the  occasion  of  the  death,  and  of  course 
no  one  can  be  called  to  testify  to  it,  —  is  it  wholly  unsusceptible 
of  legal  proof  ?  Experience  has  shown  that  circumstantial  evi- 
dence may  be  offered  in  such  a  case  ;  that  is,  that  a  body  of 
facts  may  be  proved  of  so  conclusive  a  character  as  to  warrant 
a  firm  belief  of  the  fact,  quite  as  strong  and  certain  as  that  on 

1  Huxley's  Aine7'ica7i  Addresses,  11. 


64  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUJSIENTATION. 

which  discreet  men  are  accustomed  to  act  in  relation  to  their 
most  important  concerns.   ... 

"  Each  of  these  modes  of  proof  has  its  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages ;  it  is  not  easy  to  compare  their  relative  value.  The 
advantage  of  positive  evidence  is,  that  you  have  the  direct  testi- 
mony of  a  witness  to  the  fact  to  be  proved,  who,  if  he  speaks 
the  truth,  saw  it  done  ;  and  the  only  question  is,  whether  he  is 
entitled  to  belief  ?  The  disadvantage  is,  that  the  witness  may 
be  false  and  corrupt,  and  the  case  may  not  afford  the  means  of 
detecting  his  falsehood. 

"  But  in  a  case  of  circumstantial  evidence  where  no  witness 
can  testify  directly  to  the  fact  to  be  proved,  you  arrive  at  it  by 
a  series  of  other  facts,  which  by  experience  we  have  found  so 
associated  with  the  fact  in  question,  as  in  the  relation  of  cause 
and  effect,  that  they  lead  to  a  satisfactory  and  certain  conclu- 
sion ;  as  when  foot-prints  are  discovered  after  a  recent  snow,  it 
is  certain  that  some  animated  being  has  passed  over  the  snow 
since  it  fell ;  and,  from  the  form  and  number  of  the  foot-prints, 
it  can  be  detemiined  with  equal  certainty,  whether  it  was  a  man, 
a  bird,  or  a  quadruped.  Circumstantial  evidence,  therefore,  is 
founded  on  experience  and  observed  facts  and  coincidences, 
establishing  a  connection  between  the  known  and  proved  facts 
and  the  fact  sought  to  be  proved.  The  advantages  are,  that,  as 
the  evidence  commonly  comes  from  several  witnesses  and  differ- 
ent sources,  a  chain  of  circumstances  is  less  likely  to  be  falsely 
prepared  and  arranged,  and  falsehood  and  perjury  are  more 
likely  to  be  detected  and  fail  of  their  purpose.  The  disadvan- 
tages are,  that  a  jury  has  not  only  to  weigh  the  evidence  of  facts, 
but  to  draw  just  conclusions  from  them  ;  in  doing  which,  they 
may  be  led  by  prejudice  or  partiality,  or  by  want  of  due  deliber- 
ation and  sobriety  of  judgment,  to  make  hasty  and  false  deduc- 
tions ;  a  source  of  error  not  existing  in  the  consideration  of 
positive  evidence."  ' 

"It  is  true  of  circumstantial  evidence  that  without  some 
direct  fact  on  which  it  depends  it  is  worthless.  If  we  could 
show  you  that  the  i)risoner  desired  the  death  of  this  girl ;   that 

1  Judge  Shaw,  quoted  by  Professor  A.  S.  Hill. 


evide:n^ce.  QS 

he  profited  by  her  death  ;  that  he  had  a  secret  in  connection 
with  her  child  wliich  he  can  keep  from  the  world 
better,  now  that  she  is  dead  ;  that  she  died  under  *  ^"^^  * 
circumstances  which  made  the  attending  physician  suspect 
morphine  poisoning  ;  that  as  soon  as  the  suspicion  was  an- 
nounced, the  prisoner  mysteriously  disappeared,  and  remained 
in  hiding  for  several  days  ;  that  he  had  the  opportunity  to 
administer  the  i3oison  ;  that  he  understood  the  working  of  the 
drug ;  and  other  circumstances  of  a  similar  nature,  the  argu- 
ment would  be  entirely  circumstantial.  All  this  might  be 
true,  and  the  man  might  be  innocent.  But,  selecting  from  this 
array  of  suspicious  facts,  the  one  Avhich  indicates  morphine  as 
the  drug  employed,  and  then  add  to  it  the  fact  that  expert 
chemists  actually  find  morphine  in  the  tissues  of  the  body,  and 
3-0U  see,  gentlemen,  that  at  once  this  single  bit  of  direct  evi- 
dence gives  substantial  form  to  the  whole.  The  circumstantial 
is  strengthened  by  the  direct,  just  as  the  direct  is  made  impor- 
tant by  the  circumstantial.  The  mere  finding  of  poison  in  a 
bodj^,  though  direct  evidence  as  to  the  cause  of  death,  neither 
convicts  the  assassin,  nor  even  positively  indicates  that  a 
murder  has  been  committed.  The  poison  might  have  reached 
the  victim  by  accident.  But  consider  the  attendant  circum- 
stances, and  then  we  see  that  a  definite  conclusion  is  inevitable. 
It  is  from  the  circumstantial  evidence  only  that  we  can  reach 
the  true  meaning  of  what  the  direct  testimony  teaches.  So  we 
come  at  last  to  find  that  evidence  is  evidence,  and  that  all 
evidence  is  important  and  may  i3rove  convincing."  * 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  danger  of  giving  too 
much  weight  to  circumstantial  evidence.  Circumstan- 
ces must  be  not  only  indicative  of  his  guilt  but  incon- 
sistent with    his    innocence,   to    convict  the 

Circumstan- 

accused.     ''  In  order  to  justify  the  inference  ces  overesti- 
of  legal  guilt  from  circumstantial  evidence,  ™^^^  * 
the  existence  of  the  inculpating  facts  must  be  absolutely 
incompatible  with  the  innocence  of  the   accused,  and 

1  K.  Ottoleugui,  .1  Modern  Wizard,  1(50. 


6Q  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

incapable   of    explanation   upon   any   other    hypothesis 
than  that  of  his  guilt."  ^ 

"  Chcumstantial  evidence,  I  need  hardly  tell  you,  is  most 
delusive  in  its  character.  Analyzed,  what  do  we  find  it  to  be  ? 
It  has  been  truly  argued  that  there  is,  and  can  be,  no  cause 
Avithout  an  effect.  In  considering  circumstantial  evidence,  the 
mind  of  the  investigator  is  presented  with  the  relation  of  a 
number  of  facts,  or  effects,  and  he  is  asked  to  deduce  that  they 
are  all  attributable  to  a  stated  cause.  For  example,  a  pedler  is 
known  to  have  started  out  upon  a  lonely  road,  and  to  have  in 
his  pack  certain  Avares,  a  given  amount  of  money  in  specified 
coins  and  bills,  wearing  a  watch  and  chain,  and  he  is  subse- 
quently found  murdered,  by  the  wayside.  Later,  a  tramp  is 
arrested  upon  whose  person  is  found  the  exact  missing  money, 
and  many  of  the  articles  which  were  known  to  have  been  in 
the  pack.  He  is  charged  with  the  crime,  and  the  evidence 
against  him  is  circumstantial.  His  possession  of  these  articles 
is  an  effect,  which  is  said  to  be  attributable  to  a  cause,  to  wit, 
the  killing  of  the  pedler.  But  strong  as  such  evidence  may 
appear,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  delusive.  For  just  as  the  prosecu- 
tion ask  you  to  believe  that  a  number  of  effects  are  traceable 
to  a  single  cause,  the  crime  charged,  so  also  it  is  possible  that 
all  of  the  effects  may  have  resulted  from  various  causes.  Thus 
in  the  case  cited,  the  tramp  may  have  been  a  thief,  and  may 
have  stolen  the  articles  from  the  pedler  after  some  other  person 
had  killed  him.  And  if  it  could  be  shown  that  the  watch  and 
chain  were  missing,  and  yet  were  not  found  upon  the  tramp, 
that  would  be  as  good  evidence  in  his  favor,  as  the  other  facts 
are  against  him.  So  that  in  circumstantial  evidence  the  chain 
must  be  complete.  If  a  single  link  be  missing,  or  have  a  flaw, 
the  argument  is  inconclusive,  and  a  doubt  is  created,  the 
benefit  of  which  must  invariably  be  given  in  favor  of  the 
accused."  ^ 

The  character  of  its  contents   has  much  to   do  with 
the  credibility  of  evidence.     What  is  probable  on  the 

1  Judge  Porter,  Babcock  Conspiracy  Case. 

2  Ottolengui,  Modern  Wizard,  170. 


EVIDENCE.  67 

face  of  it,  what  squares  with  ordinary  human  experi- 
ence, what  is  consistent  with  other  facts  al- 

11  .       T  .  ,.,  ,    Improbable 

ready  knoAvn  m  the  case,  is  readil}^  accepted,  and  incredi- 

But  if  evidence  carries  improbability  on  its  ^^®  Evidence, 
face,  if  it  proposes  strange,  unusual,  unaccountable  or 
inconsistent  circumstances,  the  thoughtful  reasoner  at 
once  rejects  it.  The  accounts  in  the  Bible  of  Jonah's 
experience  with  the  whale,  of  Joshua's  causing  the  sun 
to  stand  still,  of  the  raising  of  Lazarus,  and  of  miracles 
in  general,  are  questioned  by  many  because  these  oc- 
currences are  so  far  removed  from  common  experience. 
For  the  same  reason  the  revelations  to  the  latter-day 
saints  find  slow  acceptance.  On  the  other  hand,  Defoe's 
account  of  the  plague,  though  fictitious,  is  still  occa- 
sionally quoted  as  authentic,  because  of  its  "  natural- 
ness." 

The  poet.  Story,  makes  a  Roman  lawyer  argue  that 
Judas  was  "  a  rash  and  visionary  man  "  rather  than  a 
base  criminal,  since  it  does  not  accord  with  human  ex- 
perience that  one  should  sell  his  Lord  for  so  small  a 
sum,  nor  that  a  criminal  should  have  been  chosen  to 
Judas's  place  among  the  twelve ;  nor  that  a  criminal 
could  have  hidden  his  character  so  long ;  nor  that  he 
would  have  flung  back  the  bribe,  repenting  of  his  act, 
when  he  had  the  approval  of  his  race ;  nor  that  he 
should  go  at  once  and  hang  himself  in  horror  of  what 
he  had  done. 

Evidence,  to  be  convincing,  must  be  consistent  in  all 
its    parts    as    well    as   with    facts    otherwise  inconsistent 
known.       A   witness   injures   his  credibility  ^c^q^T^^' 
as  soon  as  one  part  of  his  story  fails  to  tally  Testimony, 
with  any  other  part.     If  one  part  contradicts  another, 


68  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

one   or  all   must  be  rejected.     Of   two    contradictory 
statements,   one   must  be  false. 

There  are  three  ways  of  destroying  the  credibility  of 
a  witness :  (1)  by  assailing  his  reputation  for  veracity, 
and  showing  through  other  testimony  that  he  has  made 

different  statements  at  different  times ;  (2) 
creSbmty     ^^'  proving  a  different  state  of  facts  through 

different  witnesses  ;  (3)  by  making  him  con- 
tradict himself  on  cross-examination.  The  third  is  the 
most  effective.  It  obviates  all  question  as  to  reliability 
of  other  witnesses.  Lawyers  have  three  purposes  in 
cross-examination:  (1)  to  elicit  more  truth;  (2)  to 
test  the  witness's  truthfulness  by  endeavoring  to  con- 
fuse him  and  make  him  contradict  himself ;  (3)  to  lay 
a  foundation  for  impeachment.  Whether  any  of  these 
ends  are  reached  or  not  depends  on  the  disposition  of 
the  witness,  and  the  manner  of  conducting  the  examin- 
ation. Whatever  the  purpose,  a  witness  is  entitled  to 
fair  treatment.     Judge  Walker  says^:  — 

"Above  all  things,  let  counsel  who  aim  at  truth,  avoid  the 
manner  of  examination  called  brow-beating.  There  are  in- 
stances warranting  sharp  and  severe  treatment  of  a  witness, 
but  they  are  rare  and  exceptional.  Courtesy  is  far  more  suc- 
cessful than  harshness.  It  pays  to  consider  a  witness  a  gentle- 
man." 2 

To  be  of  account  all  new  evidence  must  be  in  har- 
mony with  what  is  already  known  in  the  case.  Hence 
the  value  of  corroborating  testimony  and  of  concurrent 
circumstances.     A  distinction  is  to  be  made  here   be- 

1  Modern  Jury  THals,  217. 

2  See  the  way  in  which  Erskine  sifts  the  testimony  of  the  witness, 
Hay,  on  the  trial  of  Lord  George  Gordon,  Goodrich's  British  Eloquence, 
664. 


EVIDENCE.  69 

tween  what  is  actually  known,  that  is,  well-established 
facts,  and  what  is  generally  accepted  theory.  Apparently 
The  apparent  discrepancies  between  new  dis-  circum-*^^ 
coveries  and  what  is  thought  to  be  already  stances, 
established,  often  annoys    the    most   careful   scientific 
investigators.     It  seemed  for  a  time  that  one  of  Pas- 
teur's theories  would  not  conform  to  what  was   con- 
sidered already  known :  — 

"  Our  tendency  to  select  for  observation  the  details  which 
support  our  existing  theories,  is  so  common  that  it  hardly  needs 
illustration.  But  that  a  wrong  selection  may  be  made  even 
when  our  object  is  to  attack  a  theory,  the  follow- 
ing example  will  show.  When  Pasteur  was  in- 
vestigating the  causes  of  splenic  fever,  he  adopted  very  early 
in  the  inquiry  the  theory  of  Davaine,  that  the  disease  was  due 
to  the  presence  of  a  certain  parasite  in  the  blood,  and  that  con- 
sequently the  same  disease,  showing  the  presence  of  the  same 
parasite,  could  be  communicated  to  other  animals  by  inocula- 
tion. On  the  other  side,  two  professors  to  whom  the  theory 
did  not  commend  itself  brought  forward,  as  a  triumphant  refu- 
tation of  it,  what  seemed  at  first  a  plainly  contradictor}^  fact. 
They  had  inoculated  some  rabbits  with  the  blood  of  an  animal 
which  had  died  of  splenic  fever,  and  though  the  rabbits  had 
died  very  rapidly  no  trace  of  the  expected  parasite  had  been 
found  in  them  either  before  or  after  their  death.  Moreover 
their  blood  again  had  been  used  to  inoculate  other  rabbits,  and 
these  too  had  died  in  the  same  rapid  manner,  but  with  the 
same  disregard  of  what  the  theory  further  required.  Davaine 
at  once  disputed  the  fact.  That  is  to  say,  he  insisted  that  the 
two  professors  must  have  used  blood  which  was  not  properly 
infected  with  splenic  fever,  but  with  some  other  disease.  The 
professors,  however,  were  equally  certain  of  their  facts  ;  they 
had  got  their  materials  from  the  best  available  source,  namely, 
from  the  director  of  an  establishment  where  numerous  animals 
which  had  died  of  splenic  fever  were  constantly  brought.  But 
in  order  to  convince  the  stubborn  theorist  they  tried  the  experi- 


70  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AllGUMENTATION. 

ment  again,  this  time  obtaining  their  materials  from  the  most 
experienced  veterinary  surgeon  in  the  neighborhood.  Exactly 
the  same  result  followed,  and  the  facts  certainly  here  appeared 
to  be  too  strong  for  the  theory. 

"It  was  some  years  later  when  the  real  weakness  of  the 
facts  themselves  came  to  light.  Davaine's  theory  had  mean- 
while been  enlarged  and  improved  by  the  discover}^  that  if  the 
blood  used  for  inoculation  has  already  begun  to  putrefy,  the 
animals  inoculated  will  die  by  a  form  of  blood-poisoning, 
quicker  in  its  operation  than  splenic  fever,  and  too  quick  to 
allow  the  true  splenic  fever  parasites  time  to  multiply.  This 
suggested  a  new  inquiry  into  the  professors'  experiments,  and 
it  was  found  that  the  blood  used  by  them,  although  certainly 
taken  from  cases  of  splenic  fever,  had  not  been  sufficiently 
fresh.  So  that  the  fact  on  which  they  had  relied  as  contra- 
dicting the  theoiy  turned  out  to  be  wrongly  —  i.e.,  incom- 
pletely—  described.  Through  merely  overlooking  the  detail 
that  the  animals  whose  blood  they  used  had  been  dead  some 
twenty-four  hours,  their  description  of  it  as  '■  splenic  fever 
blood'  became  essentially  false."* 

The  character  of  the  proposition  on  which  evidence 
is  adduced,  must  modify  somewhat  its  vahdity.  No 
evidence  of  any  force  could  be  used  to  show  that  the 

universe  has  always  existed  in  its  present 
PropMition^  state.      Testimonial    evidence    would    have 

little  force  to  sustain  what  Huxley  calls 
the  "  Miltonic "  theory.  Even  on  what  is  called  the 
"  Evolution  "  theory  there  are  two  classes  of  evidence 
between  which  there  seems  to  be  an  irreconcilable 
conflict. 

"  I  have  not  the  slightest  means  of  guessing  whether  it  took 

a  million  of  years,  or  ten  millions,  or  a  hundred 
Irreconcila- 
We  Conflicts,  millions,  or  a  thousand  millions  to  give  rise  to  that 

Huxley.  series  of   changes.     A  biologist  has  no  means  of 

1  Sidgwick,  Process  of  Argument,  94. 


EVIDENCE.  71 

arriving  at  any  conclusion  as  to  the  amount  of  time  which  may 
be  needed  for  a  certain  quantity  of  organic  change.  He  takes 
his  time  from  the  geologist.  The  geologist,  considering  the 
rate  at  which  deposits  are  formed  and  the  rate  at  which  denu- 
dation goes  on  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  arrives  at  more 
or  less  justifiable  conclusions  as  to  the  time  which  is  required 
for  the  deposit  of  a  certain  thickness  of  rocks  ;  and  if  he  tells 
me  that  the  tertiary  formations  required  500,000,000  years  for 
their  deposit,  I  suppose  he  has  good  ground  for  what  he  says, 
and  I  take  that  as  a  measure  of  the  duration  of  the  evolution  of 
the  horse  from  the  Orohippus  up  to  its  present  condition.  And, 
if  he  is  right,  undoubtedly  evolution  is  a  very  slow  process,  and 
requires  a  great  deal  of  time.  But  suppose,  now,  that  an  as- 
tronomer or  a  physicist  —  for  instance,  my  friend  Sir  William 
Thomson  —  tells  me  that  my  geological  authority  is  quite 
wrong  ;  and  that  he  has  weighty  evidence  to  show  that  life 
could  not  possibly  have  existed  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth 
500,000,000  years  ago,  because  the  earth  would  have  then  been 
too  hot  to  allow  of  life,  my  reply  is  :  '  That  is  not  my  affair  ; 
settle  that  with  the  geologist,  and  when  j^ou  have  come  to  an 
agreement  among  yourselves  I  will  adopt  your  conclusion.'  We 
take  our  time  from  the  geologists  and  physicists  ;  and  it  is 
monstrous  that,  having  taken  our  time  from  the  physical  jDhilo- 
sopher's  clock,  the  phj'sical  philosopher  should  turn  round  upon 
us,  and  say  we  are  too  fast  or  too  slow.  What  we  desire  to 
know  is,  is  it  a  fact  that  evolution  took  place  ?  As  to  the 
amount  of  time  which  evolution  may  have  occupied,  we  are 
in  the  hands  of  the  physicist  and  the  astronomer,  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  deal  with  those  questions."  * 

The  uncontradicted  testimony  of  a  single  witness  in 
court,  unless  absurd  on  its  face  or  lacking  all  probability 
from  its  very  nature,  may  be  so  valid  as  to 
determine  a  case.    But  the  unsupported  asser-  ^^grtion. 
tion  of  an  advocate  or  other  reasoner,  unless 
he  is  an  accepted  authority,   will  have    little   weight. 

1  Huxley,  American  Addresses,  92. 


72  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

When  a  clergyman  says,  "  No  editor  will  tell  the  truth 
unless  he  is  compelled  to,"  the  critical  hearer  demands 
evidence.  His  experience  does  not  teach  him  that  one 
class  of  men  are  liars  above  all  others.  He  says  with 
Huxley :  "  For  my  part,  I  have  no  prejudice  one  way 
or  the  other.  If  there  is  evidence  in  favor  of  this  view, 
I  am  burdened  by  no  theoretical  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  accepting  it ;  but  there  must  be  evidence.  Scientific 
men  get  an  awkward  habit  —  no,  I  won't  -call  it  that, 
for  it  is  a  valuable  habit  —  of  believing  nothing  unless 
there  is  evidence  for  it ;  and  they  have  a  way  of  looking 
upon  belief  which  is  not  based  upon  evidence,  not  only 
as  illogical  but  as  immoral."  ^ 

How  little  mere  assertion  proves,  and  how 
writi?ff        ^^  differs  from   evidence   or  reasoning  upon 

evidence,  is  shown  in  the  following  notice  of 
a  volume  on  proportional  representation  :  — 

"The  benefits  to  be  expected  from  the  adoption  of  propor- 
tional representation  are,  if  its  advocates  are  to  be  believed,  of 
the  most  exalted  kind.  They  assert  that  it  would  make  the 
voters  independent  of  party  machinery,  put  an  end  to  gerry- 
mandering and  the  spoils  system,  raise  the  personal  character 
of  legislators,  and  purify  the  whole  atmosphere  of  politics. 
Eepresentative  government  as  it  now  exists,  they  say,  is  a  fail- 
ure and  only  the  adoption  of  proportional  representation  will 
avail  to  save  it.  When,  however,  we  inquire  on  what  these 
rosy  expectations  are  founded,  we  find  that,  except  as  to  the 
abolition  of  gerrymandering,  they  have  no  foundation  at  all. 
The  advocates  of  the  proposed  system  tell  us  that  it  would  insure 
us  representatives  of  high  moral  and  intellectual  character  ; 
but  we  look  in  vain  for  a  connection  between  their  assertions 
and  their  conclusion.  With  the  same  voters  to  make  the  choice, 
and  the  same  men  to  choose  from,  how  can  a  different  grouping 
of  the  voters  secure  a  wiser  choice  ?  "  ^ 

1  American  Addresses,  21.  '^  The  Cntic. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  73 

IV.    CLASSES  OF  ARGUMENTS. 
1.    ON   THE   BASIS   OF  FORCE. 

An  argument  is  any  proof,  —  fact,  testimony,  circum- 
stance, —  put  forward  to  induce  a  belief  in  the  truth 
or  falsity  of  a  proposition.  Arguments  are  classified  on 
many  bases,  the  classes  thus  formed  neces-  Defmition. 
sarily  crossing  each  other.  On  the  basis  of  their  ^^^^onltrA- 
force,  arguments  may  be  divided  into  prob-  tive. 
able,  sometimes  called  moral,  and  certain,  also  called 
demonstrative.  A  probable  argument  raises  some  de- 
gree, the  higher  the  better,  of  likelihood  or  probability. 
A  certain  argument  establishes  the  proposition  beyond 
a  doubt.  In  mathematics  and  the  physical  sciences, 
absolute  certainty  or  demonstration  is  possible.  In 
social  science,  in  legal  and  political  as  well  as  in  practical 
affairs,  arguments  vary  in  force  from  a  slight  degree  of 
probability  to  moral  certainty.  Absolute  certainty  is 
such  that  the  opposite  is  inconceivable.  It  excludes  all 
doubt.  Moral  certainty  is  not  absolute  certainty.  "  It 
is  not  the  exclusion  of  all  doubt.  It  is  that  certainty 
which  convinces  and  directs  the  understanding  and 
satisfies  the  reason  and  judgment  of  those  who  act  con- 
scientiously upon  it ;  that  leads  us  to  act  in  the  gravest 
concerns  of  life  in  our  own  affairs."  ^ 

The    following  passages   will  illustrate   the  varying 
degrees  of  probability  in  the  inferences  from 
observed    facts.       A    hat    has    been    found,  pr^babinty. 
large,  fine  in  quality,  three  years  out  of  date, 
covered  with  closet  dust,  spotted  with  grease,  the  lining 

1  Modern  Jury  Tmds,  281. 


74  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

moist   and  oily,  aud  having  bits  of  gray  hair  adhering 

to  it  :  — 

"  Holmes  picked  up  the  hat  and  looked  at  it.  .  .  .  '  The 
owner  was  highly  intellectual,  fairly  well  to  do  within  the  last 
three  years,  but  has  fallen  upon  evil  days  ;  had  foresight,  but 
less  now  than  formerly  ;  ...  is  under  some  evil  influence, 
probably  strong  drink  ;  this  may  account  for  his  wife's  ceasing 
to  love  him  ;  he  has  retained  some  degree  of  self-respect,  leads 
a  sedentary  life,  goes  out  little,  is  out  of  training,  is  middle- 
aged  ;  has  had  his  hair  cut  recently,  anoints  it  with  lime  cream; 
and  it  is  not  probable  that  he  has  his  house  lighted  with  gas.'" 

The  inferences  in  the  preceding  paragraph  are  by  no 
means  the  only  way  of  accounting  for  the  condition  of 
the  hat;  there  is,  then,  little  force  in  the  argument. 
In  the  next  passage  the  arguing  is  more  forci- 
Probabiut  ^^^^'  ^^^  ^^^®  inferences  are  not  absolutely  cer- 
tain. Holmes  is  investigating  a  murder  case, 
and  is  shown  the  place  where  the  body  of  the  murdered 
man  was  found ;  the  fatal  wound  has  been  described  to 
him.     He  reasons  thus^  :  — 

"These  long  strides  show  that  the  murderer  was  tall  ;  the 
blow  being  on  the  back  of  the  victim's  head  on  the  left  side, 
shows  the  murderer  to  be  left  handed  ;  the  slight  prints  of  the 
right  foot  in  the  turf  and  soft  earth,  show  him  to  be  lame  on 
that  foot ;  these  prints  show  that  he  wears  thick-soled  hunting 
shoes  with  square  toes  ;  this  cigar  stub  and  the  wrapper  near  it 
show  that  he  smokes  Indian  cigars  ;  the  end  of  the  cigar  shows 
his  knife  to  be  dull  ;  the  ashes  on  the  bark  of  this  tree  and  the 
tracks  at  its  foot,  indicate  that  the  murderer  stood  here  and 
smoked  for  some  time,  probably  while  the  son  and  father  were 
quarreling  ;  he  uses  a  cigar-holder,  for  the  stub  has  not  been 
wet ;  this  stone  under  which  the  grass  is  only  slightly  pressed, 
and  which  corresponds  to  the  wound,  was  the  deadly  weapon  ; 

1  Conan  Doyle,  Adventures  of  the  lUue  Carhuncle. 

2  See  Sigu,  Page  173. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  75 


call, '  Cooee!  '     He  wears  a  gray  cloak  —  the  gray  thing  which 
the  son  testifies  to  having  seen  on  the  sward."  * 

In  his  Oi'igiyi  of  Species  ^  Darwin  presents  arguments 
leading  to  practical  certainty  that  beauty  of  form  and 
beauty  of  color  existed  prior  to  the  creation  of  man,  and 
are  therefore  independent  of  man's  gratifica- 
tion.    The  same  practical  certainty  is  found  ^rtainty. 
in  the  following  argument  that  radiant  heat 
and  radiant  light  are  the  same  thing,  or  only  variations 
of  the  same  thing,  in  Tait's  Recent  Advances :  — 

"  The  radiant  heat  from  the  sun  goes  along  with  the  light 
from  the  sun,  and  when  you  shut  one  off,  —  put  a  screen  so  as 
to  intercept  the  one,  —  the  other  is  intercepted  at  the  same  time. 
In  the  case  of  a  solar  eclipse,  you  have  the  sun's  heat  as  long 
as  you  see  the  smallest  portion  of  the  sun's  disk.  The  instant 
the  last  portion  of  the  disk  is  obscured,  the  heat  disaj^pears  with 
the  light.  That  shows  that  the  heat  and  the  light  take  not  only 
the  same  course,  but  also  the  same  time  to  come  to  us.  If  the  one 
lagged  ever  so  little  behind  the  other,  —  if  the  heat  disappeared 
sooner  than  the  light,  or  the  light  sooner  than  the  heat,  —  it 
would  show  that  though  they  both  moved  in  straight  lines,  the 
one  moved  faster  than  the  other  ;  but  the  result  of  observation 
is  that  we  find  so  far  as  our  most  delicate  measurements  show, 
that  heat  and  light  are  simultaneously  intercepted."  ^ 

To  know  the  difference  between  arguments  that  estab- 
lish a  proposition  with  certainty,  and  those  that  establish 
it  with  varying  degrees  of  probability,  and  to  estimate 
correctly  the  degree  of  probability,  is  of  prime 
importance.     In  practical  affairs,  in  matters  of  Knowing 
affecting  the  ownership  of  great  estates  and 
the  lives  of   those  accused  of  crime,  men  are  guided 
almost  entirely  by  inferences  from  facts. 

1  Conan  Doyle,  Boscombe  Valley  Mystery.         2  Chap.  vi. 
8  Lecture  viii,  20G. 


76  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMEXTATIOK. 

"  You  cannot  walk  a  block  without  being  convinced  through 
circumstantial  evidence.  You  cannot  live  a  day  of  your  life 
without  relying  on  circumstantial  evidence.  You  got  up  yester- 
day morning  and  saw  snow.  It  was  as  surely  snow  as  if  you 
had  seen  it  fall.  You  knew  it  had  fallen.  It  is  here  a  fact. 
You  see  in  it  the  track  of  a  cat.  You  know  a  cat  has  crossed  it 
in  that  direction.  A  man  drives  by  with  a  horse  covered  with 
foam.  You  know  he  has  driven  rapidly.  You  see  that  the 
horse  is  shod.  You  did  not  see  the  shoe  nailed  on,  but  jou 
know  that  it  is  the  work  of  a  man."  ' 

Facts  affording  arguments  practically  certain  to  one 

class  of  men  or  at  one  time,  have  much  less  force  as 

arguments  to  other  men  or  at  another  time.     It  would 

be  difficult  to  fix  a  criterion  by  which  the  force 

Force  Differs  -^ 

to  Different    of  all  arguments  could  be  measured  by  all  men 

at  all  times.  When  the  mind  is  satisfied  that 
there  is  sufficient  proof,  "  hypothesis  ^  becomes  induc- 
tion. This  point  will  be  reached  much  more  readily  by 
some  minds  than  by  others.  Professor  Huxley  regarded 
the  proposition  that  modern  horses  are  descended  from 
small  five-toed  progenitors  as  demonstratively  estab- 
lished, while  many  others  still  looked  upon  evolution 
as  a  very  slenderly  supported  hypothesis."  ^  Macaulay 
thought  that  he  had  conclusively  proved  the  identity  of 
Junius  with  Sir  Philip  Francis.  The  facts  and  hypoth- 
eses are  thus  stated  by  Wharton  ^  :  — 

"  The  number  of  hypotheses  increases  with  the  complication 
of  the  case.  If,  for  instance,  Sir  Philip  Francis's  title  to  the 
authorship  of  Junius' s  letters  is  under  investigation,  we  have  a 
series  of  concentric  h3'potheses  each  of  which  is  pertinent  and 
the  innermost  of  which  closely  surrounds  the  point  of  identity. 
It  is  pertinent  to  argue  that  the  author  of  the  letters  during  the 
Chatham  and  Grafton  ministries,  was  familiar  with  English 

1  Modern  Jury  Trials,  290.  2  Pages  113,  129. 

3  Ballantine,  Inductive  Logic,  117.  *  Law  of  Evidence^  33. 


CLASSES    OF    AKGUINIENTS.  77 

public  life;  that  he  possessed  a  practiced  pen;  that  he  was 
cognizant  of  the  traditions  of  the  war  office;  that  his  animosity 
to  Lord  Mansfield  and  his  attachment  to  Lord  Chatham  were 
strong;  that  he  had  cogent  motives  for  concealing,  both  at  the 
particular  period  and  for  years  afterwards;  that  he  ceased  to 
write  about  1773;  that  his  handwriting  had  certain  marked 
peculiarities.  Each  of  these  hypotheses  being  pertinent,  it  is 
relevant  to  prove  that  Sir  Philip  Francis  was,  during  the  period 
when  the  Junius  letters  appeared,  familiar  with  English  public 
life;  that  his  style  was  polished,  vigorous  and  not  unlike  that  of 
Junius;  that  he  had  been  some  time  a  clerk  in  the  war  office; 
that  his  political  relations  repelled  him  from  Lord  Mansfield, 
and  connected  him  with  Lord  Chatham;  that  to  him  discovery 
would  be  political  ruin;  that  at  about  the  time  the  Junius  letters 
closed,  he  left  the  country;  that  his  handwriting  was  strikingly 
like  that  of  Junius." 

In  spite  of  these  facts,  however,  it  is  not  now  gener- 
ally believed  by  those  who  have  investigated  the  matter, 
that  Francis  wrote  The  Letters  of  Junius, 

2.      BASIS   OF  USE. 

On  the  basis  of  their  use,  arguments  are  direct  or  in- 
direct.i  Direct  arguments  aim  straight  at  a  definite  and 
desired  conclusion.  They  are  positive,  candid,  appar- 
ent.   By  them  the  reasoner  seeks  openly  and  in  propria 

1  The  division  of  proofs  into  direct  and  indirect  is  so  important  that  I 
wish  to  suggest  for  class  work  the  following  classification  which  contains 
its  own  explanation : 

{A)  Direct  proofs,  proofs  for  one's  own  proposition  (these  may  be  a 
pi'iori,  by  sign,  by  example  or  by  analogy). 

(B)  Indirect  proofs  (of  one's  own  proposition) ; 

1.  A  direct  overthrow  of  the  opponent's  proposition ;  that  is,  a 
proof  of  any  of  the  four  sorts  against  the  opponent's  proposi- 
tion; or 

2.  An  indirect  overthrow  of  the  opponent's  proposition ;  that  is, 
the  refuting  of  a  proof  offered  (or  imagined  to  be  offered) ;  (a) 
in  favor  of  the  opponent's  proposition,  or  (b)  against  one's  own 
j^Tojposition.  —  Educational  Review,  October,  1897,  288. 


78  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

persona  to  establish  a  proposition  or  refute  it.     He  is 

not  masked.      His  purpose  is  not  concealed. 

His  meaning  is  unequivocal.  His  process  is 
constructive.  The  great  body  of  argumentation  is  of 
this  class,  and  need  not  be  further  discussed  assuch.^ 

Indirect  arguments  are  used  most  frequently  in  refu- 
tation.2  They  aim  at  building  up  one  thing  by  over- 
throwing another.     They  usually  show  the  truth  of  a 

proposition  by  exhibiting  in  some  way  the  in- 
Reductioad      consistcucy,  absurdjty  or  unreasonableness  of 

an  opposite  conclusion.  Ihey  prove  truth 
by  disproving  error.  Of  the  numerous  kinds  of  indirect 
arguments,  the  reductio  ad  ahsurditm  is  one  of  the  most 
common.  There  are  several  methods  of  "  reducing  to  the 
absurd,"  one  of  which  is  familiar  to  students  of  geometiy : 


a 


Two  perpendiculars  to  the  same  straight  line  are  parallel. 


■D 


"  Let  the  lines  A  B  and  C  D  be  perpendicular  to  A  C 

"  To  prove  A  B  and  C  D  parallel. 

"  If  y1  5  and  C  D  are  not  parellel,  they  will  meet  in  some 
point  if  sufficiently  produced. 

"We  should  then  have  two  perpendiculars  from  the  same 
point  to  A  C,  which  is  impossible. 

"  [From  a  given  point  without  a  straight  line  but  one  per- 
pendicular can  be  drawn  to  the  line.] 

"  Therefore,  A  B  and  C  D  cannot  meet  and  are  parallel." 

1  See  Antecedent   Probability,   Example    and    Analogy,  and  Sign, 
pages  124,  14G,  loS,  173. 
'■i  Page  206. 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  79 

Here  the  conclusions  are  reduced  to  two,  one  of 
which  is  proved  absurd,  thus  leaving  the  other  to  stand 
as  established. 

The  absurdity  of  the  principle,  "  Of  two  evils  choose 
the  lesser,"'   is   shown   by  applying  the  same  kind  of 
reasoning  by  which  the  principle  is  supported 
in  one  case,  to  a  different  case  in  which  the 
conclusion  reached  is  manifestly  absurd :  — 

"Mr.  Sherman  is  opposed  to  inflation,  and  yet  reported  this 
bill  authorizing  the  purchase  of  4,500,000  ounces  of  silver  every 
month  ;  how  does  he  reconcile  his  action  with  his  professions  ? 
By  showing  that  a  large  majority  of  the  Senate  favored  free 
coinage,  that  it  was  feared  that  the  House  might  yield  and 
agree  to  it,  that  if  a  bill  for  free  coinage  should  have  passed 
both  houses,  Harrison  might  have  signed  it,  and  that  free 
coinage  was  a  Avorse  evil  than  the  silver-purchase  scheme. 
Consequently,  Mr.  Sherman  did  what  he  could  to  pass  the 
latter. 

"  How  can  a  man  with  any  real  convictions  on  the  subject 
advocate  and  father  a  bill  which  he  holds  to  be  radically  vicious, 
because  something  worse  is  proposed  by  some  one  else  ?  On 
this  principle  the  candid  patriot  may  advocate  anything  he 
pleases,  provided  he  announces  that  he  is  opposed  to  it.  Sup- 
pose the  majority  of  the  House  are  in  favor  of  an  act  for  the 
immediate  murder  of  all  adult  Chinamen  or  Indians,  while  the 
Senate  is  in  favor  of  killing  all  the  children  as  well.  The  first 
is  obviously  the  lesser  evil ;  but  Mr.  Sherman  would  hardly  like 
to  report  it  from  a  conference  committee  and  favor  its  adoption. 
On  these  principles  we  might  be  called  upon  to  listen  to  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  an  act  legalizing  burglary  as  a  lesser  evil 
than  an  act  pemiitting  murder,  or  of  an  act  authorizing  lar- 
ceny as  preferable  on  the  whole  to  burglar)\  The  matter  is 
clear  enough  where  acts  universally  recognized  as  wicked  are 
concerned."  ' 

If  a  conclusion  is  true  the  propositions  which  support 
1  The  Nation, 


80  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

it  must  also  be   true.     The  argument  which  like  the 

last  example,  *may  be  met  by  the  reductio  ad  ahsurdum^ 

proves  too  much.     It  proves  its  own  conclu- 

Proyrng:  •       .^^-^^  ^^^^  ^^  more  others  which  are  absurd, 

too  Mach. 

It  thus  suggests  in  itself  the  means  of  its 
own  overthrow ;  for  proving  the  absurdity  of  the  gen- 
eral proposition  upon  which  the  conclusion  rests,  de- 
stroys the  conclusion.  The  Educational  Review  thus 
answers  the  statement,  *' English  literature  cannot  be 
taught "  :  — 

"  Having  in  mind  the  confusion  between  teaching  and  ex- 
amination which  has  befogged  the  whole  discussion  of  the 
question  in  England,  Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman,  the  historian,  de- 
clared against  any  university  teaching  of  English  literature. 
Mr.  Collins  quotes  Mr.  Freeman  as  writing,  '  there  are  many 
things  fit  for  a  man's  personal  study  which  are  not  fit  for  uni- 
versity examinations.  One  of  these  is  Hterature.'  That  liter- 
ature '  cultivates  the  taste,  educates  the  sympathies,  enlarges 
the  mind,'  Mr.  Freeman  makes  no  attempt  to  deny  ;  '  only,  we 
cannot  examine  in  tastes  and  sympathies,'  is  his  reply.  Xow, 
if  this  proves  anything,  it  proves  too  much.  It  is  an  argument, 
not  against  teaching  English  literature  only,  but  against  teach- 
ing Latin  literature  and  Greek  literature.  But  Mr.  Freeman 
and  those  who  hold  with  him  have  not  yet  suggested  that  the 
universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  should  give  up  the  teach- 
ing of  Greek  literature. 

"  There  is  indeed  a  difference  between  the  teaching  of  Eng- 
lish literature  and  the  teaching  of  Greek  literature.  The  texts 
of  the  great  Greek  authors,  like  the  texts  of  the  great  English 
authors,  may  serve  for  grammatical  instruction  and  for  mere 
linguistic  drill  ;  or  they  may,  the  ancient  as  well  as  the  mod- 
ern, be  used  to  cultivate  the  taste,  educate  the  sympathy  and 
enlarge  the  mind." 

Thrown  into  syllogistic  ^  form  this  would  be  :  — 

1  Page  89. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  81 

1.  AVIiatevcr  has  to  do  with  tastes  and  sympathies  cannot  be 
examined  upon  :  — 

English  literature  has  to  do  with  tastes  and  sympathies  ; 
English  literature  cannot  be  examined  upon. 

2.  Whatever  cannot  be  examined  upon,  cannot  be  taught:  — 
English  literature  cannot  be  examined  upon  ; 

English  literature  cannot  be  taught. 

But  what  is  said  of  English  literature  may  be  said  of 
Greek,  Eomaii,  or  any  other  kind  of  literature,  or  in- 
deed of  any  form  of  art ;  and  to  say  that  no  art  can  be 
taught,  is  manifestly  absurd. 

Other  forms  of  indirect  argument  depend  for  their 
force  on  the  principle  of  alternative.     A  subject  may 
so  present  itself  that  two  or  more  conclusions  are  pos- 
sible, only  one  of  wliich  is  just.      If  these 
conclusions  can  be  shown  definitely  to  be  the  Aitern*  Uv^ 
only^  ones,  the  falseness  of  all  but  one  may 
be  proved,  and  the  truth  of  this  be  left  to  assert  itself. 
Hepburn  uses  the  following  example  where  there  are 
two  alternatives  ^ :  — 

"  If  the  thesis  is,  '  Man  is  a  free  agent,'  then  the  antithesis 
is,  'Man  is  not  a  free  agent.'  To  prove  the  thesis  directly, 
we  should  have  to  lay  down  positive  arguments  ;  as,  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  power  of  contrary  choice,  the  consciousness 
of  responsibility.  The  indirect  proof  ^vould  take  some  such 
fomi  as  this  :  '  Man  is  either  free  or  he  is  not  free.  Let  us 
assume  that  he  is  not  free.  If  he  is  not  free,  he  cannot,  in 
cases  of  conflicting  motives,  choose,  but  must  blindly  follow 
one  of  the  impulses.  But  we  know  from  consciousness  that 
he  can  decide  between  conflicting  motives ;  therefore  it  is 
false  that  he  is  not  free.     He  must,  therefore,  be  free.'"'^ 

In  his  Speech  on  Conciliation  Burke  affords  a  good 
example  of  indirect   arguments  where   there   are   four 

1  See  also  Page  83.  -  English  Composition,  191. 


u%n 


82  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

alternatives,  that  is,  four  possibilities.  He 
nativet^*^^"  dismisses  one  as  already  rejected,  and  then 

overthrows  two  as  a  necessary  clearing  of 
the  ground  to  establish  the  last :  — 

"  But,  Sir,  in  wishing  to  put  an  end  to  pernicious  experi- 
ments, I  do  not  mean  to  preclude  the  fullest  inquiry.  Far 
from  it.  Far  from  deciding  on  a  sudden  or  partial  view,  I 
would  patiently  go  round  and  round  the  subject,  and  survey  it 
minutely  in  every  possible  aspect.  Sir,  if  I  were  capable  of 
engaging  you  to  an  equal  attention,  I  would  state  that,  as  far 
as  I  am  capable  of  discerning,  there  are  but  three  ways  of 
proceeding  relative  to  this  stubborn  spirit  which  prevails  in 
your  Colonies,  and  disturbs  your  government.  These  are,  — 
to  change  that  spirit,  as  inconvenient,  by  removing  the  causes  ; 
to  prosecute  it  as  criminal ;  or  to  comply  with  it  as  necessary.  I 
would  not  be  guilty  of  an  imperfect  enumeration  ;  I  can  think 
of  but  these  three.  Another  has  indeed  been  started,  —  that  of 
giving  up  the  Colonies  ;  but  it  met  so  slight  a  reception  that  I 
do  not  think  myself  obliged  to  dwell  a  great  while  upon  it.  It 
is  nothing  but  a  little  sally  of  anger,  like  the  frowardness  of 
peevish  children,  who,  when  they  cannot  get  all  they  would 
have,  are  resolved  to  take  nothing."  ' 

Burke's  treatment  is  broad,  comprehensive  and  effec- 
tive. He  discusses  thoroughly,  and  impartially  the 
first  two  alternatives,  showing  them  impractical  or 
impossible :  — 

"  If  then,  the  removal  of  the  causes  of  this  spirit  of  Ameri- 
can liberty  be  for  the  greater  part,  or  rather  entirely,  imprac- 
ticable ;  if  the  ideas  of  criminal  process  be  inapplicable,  —  or 
if  applicable,  are  in  the  highest  degree  inexpedient ;  what  way 
yet  remains  ?  No  way  is  open  but  the  third  and  last,  —  to 
comply  with  the  American  spirit  as  necessary  ;  or,  if  you 
please,  to  submit  to  it  as  a  necessary  evil.'"* 

Then  by  direct  argument  he  strengthens  the  conclu- 

1  Select  Works,  I.  187.  2  j^a,  195. 


CLASSES    OF    APwGUMENTS.  83 

sion  thus  reached  indirectl}',  and  insists  that  the  third 
plan  is  both  practicable  and  expedient. 

This  method,  where  there  are  several  alternatives,  is 
allied  to  the  Method  of  llesidues,^  and  is  very  common 
in  scientific  aro-umentation.     Huxlev  uses  it  in  the  in- 

CD  yJ 

troductory  lecture  on   evolution.      He  says 

•^  ,  -  -  ,  *^       Care  Needed. 

there  are  but  three  hypotheses  to  account 
for  the  order  of  nature,  each  of  which  he  carefull}^ 
explains.  Then,  after  showing  why  the  fii"st  two  can- 
not be  maintained,  he  proceeds  with  positive  arguments 
in  favor  of  the  third,  the  theory  of  evolution.  The 
method  must  be  used  with  care.  All  possible  theories 
must  be  enumerated,  and  this  necessitates  an  exhaus- 
tive analysis  of  the  subject.  Convincing  reasons  must 
be  given  for  the  rejection  of  all  hj^potheses  but  one. 
Then,  lest  there  be  a  possible  hypothesis  omitted  or 
a  gap  be  left  in  the  reasoning,  direct  proofs  must  be 
given  to  confirm  the  conclusion  reached  b}^  indirect 
arguments. 

By    the    destructive    dilemma    a    proposition    to    be 
refuted  is  reduced  to  alternatives.      The  arguer  then 
shows  that  the  one  alternative  is  not  tenable,  and  then 
that  the  other  is  not,  so  that  the  case  fails. 
The  alternatives  are  called  the  horns  of  the  ^nemma.''^ 
dilemma.     If  the  alternatives   are  correctl}' 
taken    and    tlie   premises   are    sustained,   the    dilemma 
is  unanswerable,  and  he.  against  whom  it  is  used  must 
abandon    liis    position.     The    dilemma    is    usuall}"    de- 
structive.    It  can  be  used,  however,  to  sustain,  directly 
or  indirectly,  but  is  very  liable  to  fallacy ;  for  two  alter- 
natives seldom  exhaust  all  possible  cases. 

1  Page  115. 


84  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

Victor  Hugo  confronts   Javert,  a   police    inspector, 

with  this  dilemma:  Jean  Valjean,  an  escaped  convict, 

had  spared  Ja vert's  life.  Javert  must  de- 
Examples.  -  i         ■,      t         ^  -,  ^  -, 

cide  whether  he  can  now  honorably  re-arrest 

the  convict,  and  subject  him  to  capital  punishment :  — 

"  What  should  he  do  now  ?  Give  up  Jean  Valjean  ?  That 
would  be  wrong.  Leave  Jean  Valjean  free  ?  That  would  be 
wrong.  In  the  first  case  the  man  of  authority  would  fall 
lower  than  the  man  of  the  galley  ;  in  the  second,  the  convict 
rose  higher  than  the  law  and  set  his  foot  upon  it  ;  in  both 
cases,  dishonor  to  Javert.  In  every  case  that  was  open  to 
him,  there  was  a  fall."  * 

Burke  meets  Lord  North's  proposition  to  allow  the 
Colonies  to  raise  their  quota  of  revenue  in  their  own 
wa}^  with  this  dilemma :  — 

"  Let  it  also  be  considered  that,  either  in  the  present  confu- 
sion you  settle  a  permanent  contingent,  which  will  and  must 
be  trifling,  and  then  you  have  no  effectual  revenue  ;  or  you 
change  the  quota  at  every  exigency,  and  then  on  every  new 
repartition  you  will  have  a  new  quarrel."^ 

In  either  case  the  trouble  with  the  Colonies  will 
continue. 

Huxley  uses  the  dilemma  to  prove  that  the  plants  which, 
according  to  the  "  Miltonic "  hypothesis,  were  created  the 
third  day,  were  not  different  from  such  plants  as  now  live  ; 

for  "  if  they  were  different,  either  the  existing 
Dilemma  In  plants  have  been  the  result  of  a  separate  origina- 
Lectures.         ^^^^^^  since  that  described  by  Milton,  of  which  we 

have  no  record,  nor  any  ground  for  supposition 
that  such  an  occurrence  has  taken  place  ;  or  else  they  have 
arisen  by  a  process  of  evolution  from  the  original  stocks."^ 
He  uses  the  dilemma  again,  to  show  that  all  varieties  of  fislies 

1  Les  Mlserahles.  2  Select  WorkSy  I.  227. 

<*  Aiiiericait  Addresses,  22. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  85 

and  the  great  whales  and  the  like,  could  not  have  made  their 
appearance  on  the  fifth  day  of  creation  ;  if  this  were  true  "we 
ought  to  find  the  remains  of  these  animals  in  older  rocks  —  in 
those  which  were  deposited  before  the  carboniferous  ei30ch. 
Fishes  we  do  find  in  considerable  number  and  variety  ;  but  the 
great  whales  are  absent  and  the  fishes  are  not  such  as  now  live. 
Xot  one  solitary  species  of  fish  now  in  existence  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Devonian  or  Silurian  formations.  Hence  we  are  intro- 
duced afresh  to  the  dilemma  which  I  have  already  placed 
before  you.  Either  the  animals  which  came  into  existence  on 
the  fifth  day  were  not  such  as  are  found  at  present,  are  not  the 
direct  and  immediate  ancestors  of  those  which  now  exist ;  in" 
which  case  either  fresh  creations  must  have  occurred  of  which 
nothing  is  said  ;  or  a  process  of  evolution  must  have  occurred  ; 
or  else  the  whole  stor}'  must  be  given  up,  as  not  only  devoid  of 
any  circumstantial  evidence,  but  contrarj'  to  such  evidence  as 
exists."  ' 

The  dilemma  is  specially  liable  to  be  fallacious.  If 
in  order  to  prove  that  stimulus  is  useless  to  students,  it 
is  argued :  "  If  a  student  likes  his  studies  he  needs  no 
stimulus ;  if  he  dislikes  his  studies  no  stimu-  , 

Incorrect 
lus  will  avail ;  but  a  student  either  likes  his  Aiter- 

studies  or  he  dislikes  them ;  therefore  stimu 

lus  is  either  not  necessary,  or  it  is  of  no  avail,"  —  we 

have  forgotten  a  third  attitude  of  the  student,  possible 

indifference,  and  our  conclusion  is  false.     Stimulus  may 

be  useful  to  indifferent  students.^ 

Irony  and  ridicule  may  have  the  effect  of  indirect 

arguments.     The  arguer  wears  a  mask,  or  conceals  liis 

purpose,  apparently  agreeing  with  his  adver-        . 

sary  till  he  is  sure  of  his  audience,  the  more  Devices 

effectively  to  demolish  him.    He  argues  with  ^ 

mock  seriousness.      The  first  part  of  3IarJc    Antony's 

1  Araeiican  Addresses,  25.  ^  Jevons,  Lessons  in  Logic,  105. 


86  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

Speech^  Burke's  Vindication  of  Natural  Society^  Defoe's 
Shortest  Way  with  Dissenters^  Swift's  Modest  Proposal 
and  Whately's  Historic  Doubts^  are  classic  examples. 
Webster's  illustration  of  supposed  resistance  to  the 
Tariff  Law,  in  his  Reply  to  Hayne^  combines  irony, 
ridicule,  reductio  ad  ahsurdum,^  argumentum  ad  homi- 
nem  2  and  dilemma :  — 

"And  now,  Mr.  President,  let  me  run  the  honorable  gentle- 
man's doctrine  a  little  into  its  practical  application.  Let  us 
look  at  his  probable  modus  operandi.  If  a  thing  can  be  done, 
an  ingenious  man  can  tell  hoiv  it  is  to  be  done  ;  and  I  wish  to 
be  informed  how  this  State  interference  is  to  be  put  in  prac- 
tice, without  violence,  bloodshed  and  rebellion.  We  will  take 
the  existing  case  of  the  tariff  law.  South  Carolina  is  said  to 
have  made  up  her  opinion  upon  it.  If  we  do  not  repeal  it,  (as 
we  probably  shall  not,)  she  will  then  apply  to  the  case  the 
remedy  of  her  doctrine.  She  will,  we  must  suppose,  pass  a 
law  of  her  legislature,  declaring  the  several  Acts  of  Congress, 
usually  called  the  tariff  laws,  null  and  void,  so  far  as  they 
respect  South  Carolina,  or  the  citizens  thereof.  So  far,  all  is 
a  paper  transaction,  and  easy  enough.  But  the  collector  at 
Charleston  is  collecting  the  duties  imposed  by  these  tariff  laws. 
He,  therefore,  must  be  stojDped.  The  collector  will  seize  the 
goods  if  the  tariff  duties  are  not  paid.  The  State  authorities 
will  undertake  their  rescue  ;  the  marshal,  with  his  posse,  will 
come  to  the  collector's  aid  ;  and  here  the  contest  begins.  The 
militia  of  the  State  will  be  called  out  to  sustain  the  nullifying 
act.  They  will  march,  Sir,  under  a  very  gallant  leader  ;  for  I 
believe  the  honorable  member  himself  commands  the  militia  of 
that  part  of  the  State.  He  will  raise  the  nullifying  act  on  his 
standard,  and  spread  it  out  as  his  banner  !  It  will  have  a  pre- 
amble, setting  forth  that  the  tariff  laws  are  palpable,  deliberate 
and  dangerous  violations  of  the  Constitution  !  He  will  proceed, 
with  this  banner  flying,  to  the  custom-house  in  Charleston, '  all 
the  while,  sonorous  metal  blowing  martial  sounds.'     Arrived 

1  Page  78.  2  Page  103. 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  87 

at  the  custom-house,  he  will  tell  the  collector  that  he  must  col- 
lect no  more  duties  under  any  of  the  tariff  laws.  This  he  will 
be  somewhat  puzzled  to  say,  by  the  way,  with  a  grave  counte- 
nance, considering  what  hand  South  Carolina  herself  had  in 
that  of  1816.  But,  Sir,  the  collector  would  probably  not  desist 
at  his  bidding.  He  would  show  him  the  law  of  Congress,  the 
treasury  instruction,  and  his  own  oath  of  office.  He  would  say, 
he  should  perform  his  duty,  come  what  come  might. 

"  Here  would  ensue  a  pause  ;  for  they  say  that  a  certain 
stillness  precedes  the  tempest.  The  trumpeter  would  hold  his 
breath  awhile,  and,  before  all  this  military  array  should  fall  on 
the  custom-house,  collector,  clerks,  and  all,  it  is  very  probable 
some  of  those  composing  it  would  request  of  their  gallant  com- 
mander-in-chief to  be  informed  a  little  upon  the  point  of  law  ; 
for  they  have  doubtless  a  just  respect  for  his  opinions  as  a  law- 
yer, as  well  as  for  his  bravery  as  a  soldier.  They  know  he  has 
read  Blackstone  and  the  Constitution,  as  well  as  Turenne  and 
Yauban.  They  would  ask  him,  therefore,  something  concern- 
ing their  rights  in  this  matter.  They  would  inquire  whether  it 
was  not  somewhat  dangerous  to  resist  a  law  of  the  United  States. 

"  What  would  be  the  nature  of  their  offence,  they  would  wish 
to  learn,  if  they,  by  military  force  and  array,  resisted  the  exe- 
cution in  Carolina  of  a  law  of  the  United  States,  and  it  should 
turn  out,  after  all,  that  the  law  icas  constitutional  ?  He  would 
answer,  of  course,  treason.  No  lawyer  could  give  any  other 
answer.  John  Fries,  he  would  tell  them,  had  learned  that, 
some  years  ago.  How,  then,  they  would  ask,  do  you  propose 
to  defend  us?  We  are  not  afraid  of  bullets,  but  treason  has  a 
way  of  taking  people  off  that  we  do  not  much  relish.  How  do 
you  propose  to  defend  us.  '  Look  at  my  floating  banner,'  he 
would  reply  ;  '  see  there  the  nullifying  law  ! '  Is  it  your  opinion, 
gallant  commander,  they  would  then  say,  that,  if  we  should  be 
indicted  for  treason,  that  same  floating  banner  of  j^ours  would 
make  a  good  plea  in  bar  ?  '  South  Carolina  is  a  sovereign 
State,'  he  would  reply.  That  is  true  ;  but  would  the  judge 
admit  our  plea  ?  '  These  tariff  laws,'  he  would  repeat,  '  are 
unconstitutional, — palpabl}^  deliberately,  dangerously.'  That 
all  may  be  so  ;  but  if  the  tribunal  should  not  happen  to  be  of 


88  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

that  opinion,  shall  we  swing  for  it  ?  We  are  ready  to  die  for 
our  country,  but  it  is  rather  an  awkward  business,  this  dying 
without  touching  the  ground  !  Alter  all,  that  is  a  sort  of  hemp 
tax  worse  than  any  part  of  the  tariff. 

"Mr.  President,  the  honorable  gentleman  would  be  in  a 
dilemma,  like  that  of  another  great  general.  He  would  have 
a  knot  before  him  which  he  could  not  untie.  He  must  cut  it 
with  his  sword.  He  must  say  to  his  followers,  '  Defend  your- 
selves with  your  bayonets '  ;  and  this  is  war,  —  civil  war. 

"  Direct  collision,  therefore,  between  force  and  force  is  the 
unavoidable  result  of  that  remedy  for  the  revision  of  unconsti- 
tutional laws  which  the  gentleman  contends  for.  It  must  hap- 
pen in  the  very  first  case  to  which  it  is  applied."  ' 


3.    BASIS   OF   LOGIC. 

On  the  basis  of  direction,  or  logical  process,  arguments 

are  Deductive  or  Inductive  ;  deductive  when  they  move 

from  the  general  toward  the  specific,  inductive  when 

they  move  from  the  specific  toward  the  o^eneral. 
Deductive  -^  ^  ^ 

Argument  Deductivc  arguments  evolve  from  a  general 
^^  ^^  '  principle  or  truth,  a  principle  less  general  or 
a  specific  fact.  They  apply  a  general  rule  to  a  particu- 
lar case.  They  infer  an  effect  from  an  adequate  cause, 
a  deed  from  a  motive,  a  phenomenon  from  an  antecedent 
general  condition.  The  general  cause,  condition,  rule, 
law  or  trnth,  is  reached  by  induction,^  a  process  proceed- 
ing from  specific  examples  to  a  principle  including  all 
kindred  cases.  Long  and  continual  practice  in  inferring 
principles  from  particular  facts,  develops  an  insight  for 
general  conclusions.  Experience  renders  many  general 
truths  practically  self-evident. 

From  the  low  temperature   the   deduction   is    made 

1  Great  Speeches,  266.  -  Page  108. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  89 

that  standing  water  Avill  be  frozen ;  from  the  foice  and 
extent  of  a  cyclone,  that  property  and  lives  will  be 
destroyed.  From  the  general  principle  that 
unscrupulous  men  Avill  murder  for  money,  D^<f^Jio^°^ 
Webster  made  the  deduction  that  the  Knapps 
might  have  killed  Captain  White ;  from  the  condition 
of  the  Colonies,  Burke  deduced  their  love  of  liberty  and 
spirit  of  disobedience  :  — 

"Then,  Sir,  from  these  six  capital  sources  —  of  descent,  of 
form  of  government,  of  religion  in  the  Northern  Provinces, 
of  manners  in  the  Southern,  of  education,  of  the  remoteness  of 
situation  from  the  first  mover  of  government  —  from  all  these 
causes  a  fierce  spirit  of  liberty  has  grown  up.  It  has  grown 
with  the  growth  of  the  people  in  your  Colonies,  and  increased 
with  the  increase  of  their  wealth  ;  a  spirit  that  unhappily  meet- 
ing with  an  exercise  of  power  in  England  which,  however  law- 
ful, is  not  reconcilable  to  any  ideas  of  liberty,  much  less  with 
theirs,  has  kindled  this  flame  that  is  ready  to  consume  us."  ' 

Deductive  argumentation  is  demonstrative  in  form ; 
it  is  demonstrative  in  fact  except  when  its  premises  are 
based  on  imperfect  induction.     It  meets  the  conditions 
of  a  complete  syllogism,  which  is  its  formal 
instrument.    The  rhetorical  syllogism  consists  gyi^jo^^sm^ 
of  three  essential   parts :  (1)  a  general  rule 
which  may  be  a  universal  trutli,  or  a  generalization  from 
experience ;  (2)    an    intermediate    statement   bringing 
the  particular  case  within  the  rule ;  and  (3 )   the  appli- 
cation of  the  rule  to  the  particular  case.     Or,  the  three 
essential  statements  may  be  described  as  (1)  an  assertion 
concerning  a  class;  (2)  a  statement  bringing  a  particular 
within  that  class ;  and  (3)  the  same  assertion  concern- 
ing tliat  particular. 

1  Select  Works,  I.  184. 


90  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

Logically  the  syllogism  is  defined  as  "  the  act  of  thought  by 
which  from  two  given  propositions  we  proceed  to  a  third  prop- 
osition, the  truth  of  which  necessarily  follows  from  the  truth 
of  these  given  propositions."  '     The  special  rules  of 
s°U*^ei  ^^^^  sjllogism  are  founded  upon  the  laws  of  thought. 

They  serve  to  inform  exactly  in  what  circumstances 
one  proposition  can  be  inferred  from  two  others. 

"  1.  Every  syllogism  has  three  and  only  three  terms. 
These  terms  are  called  the  major  term,  the  minor  term,  and 
the  middle  term. 

2.  Every  syllogism  contains  three  and  only  three  propositions. 
These  propositions  are  called  the  major  premise,  the  univer- 
sal truth  or  general  rule  or  law  ;    the  minor  pre- 

Termsand       u^jge^  the   statement  bringing  the  particular  case 
within  this  law,  or  principle  ;  and  the  conclusion, 
the  application  of  the  principle,  or  the  truth  deduced  from 
what  precedes. 

3.  The  middle  term  must  he  distributed  once  at  least,  and 
must  not  he  amhiguous. 

4.  No  term  must  he  distributed  in  the  conclusion  lohich  loas 
not  distributed  in  one  of  the  premises. 

5.  From  negative  premises  nothing  can  he  inferred. 

6.  If  one  premise  be  negative.,  the  conclusions  7nust  be  nega- 
tive ;  and  vice  versa,  to  prove  a  negative  conclusion  one  of  the 
premises  must  he  negative. 

From  the  above  rules  may  be  deduced  two  subordinate  rules, 
which  it  will  be  convenient  to  state  at  once  :  — 

7.  From  two  particular  premises  no  conclusion  can  he  drawn. 

8.  If  one  premise  be  particular,  the  conclusion  must  he  par- 
ticular.^'' ^ 

The  middle  term  occurs  in  both  premises  but  not  in  the  con- 
clusion. The  major  term  is  predicate  of  the  conclusion.  The 
minor  term  is  subject  of  the  conclusion.  These  terms  are  thus 
named  because  in  the  universal  affirmative  proposition,  the 
predicate  is  necessaril}-  a  wider  and  more  inclusive  term  than 
the  subject.  In  the  statement,  "  All  men  are  mortal  "  the  pred- 
1  Jevons,  Lessons  in  Logic,  127.  ^  JUd, 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  91 

icate  includes  all  other  animals  as  well  as  men.     The  middle 
term  is  that  by  means  of  which  the  other  two  are  compared. 

In  the  complete  concrete  syllogism, 

All  Indians  are  dark-skinned  (major  premise), 
Eed  Jacket  is  an  Indian  (minor  premise), 
Red  Jacket  is  dark-skinned  (conclusion), 

it  is  asserted,  first,  that  every  member  of  the  class,  Indian, 

is  dark-skinned ;  second,  that  Red  Jacket  is  included  in 

the  class,  Indian  ;  and  third,  that  what  is  asserted  of  the 

class,  Indian,  is  true  of  a  member  of  that  class, 

Red  Jacket.     Nothing  is  affirmed  in  the  con-  f^T"?^'". 
^  Illustrated. 

elusion  beyond  what  is  affirmed  in  the  premises. 
If  the  premises  are  true  and  the  reasoning  is  valid,  the 
conclusion  miist  follow.  Whether  the  premises  can  be 
proved  true  or  not,  depends  upon  the  character  and  use 
of  evidence ;  whether  the  reasoning  is  valid  or  not,  can 
be  shown  by  applying  the  rules  of  the  syllogism, — 
which  is  the  province  of  Logic. 

Very  rarely  in  literary  argument  do  reasoners  make 
use  of  the  complete  S3dlogism,  except  to  render  perfectly 
apparent  the  premises   from   which  the   conclusion   is 
deduced,  or  to  show  some  fault  in  reasoning. 
Deductive    arguments    take    various    forms,  synoeism 
One  premise,  or  even  the  conclusion,  may  not 
be  expressed  if  obvious  enough  to  be  taken  for  granted; 
in  this  case  the  syllogism  is  called  an  enthymeme.     One 
of  the  premises  may  be  conditional,  which    gives  the 
hypothetical  syllogism.     A  syllogistic  argument  may  be 
involved  in  a  statement  with  its  reasons,  or  with  its 
inferences,  or  may  be  diffused  throughout  an  extended 
discussion.     To  argue  effectively,  with   clearness   and 
cogency,  the  reasoner  must  have  his  deductive  frame 


92  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

work  clearly  in  mind  at  every  point  of  his  discussion, 
and  keep  it  before  the  reader  or  hearer. 

In  the  following  paragraph  from  Burke, '  from  (1)  and  (2), 
the  conclusion  may  be  drawn,  "  I  mean  to  offer  reconcilia- 
tion." Combining  (1)  with  the  second  clause  of  (2)  gives,  "  I 
mean  to  make  concession."  From  the  second 
Syllogisms  ^l^use  of  (2),  with  the  supplied  premise,  (3)  may 
be  deduced.  (2)  combined  with  (5)  also  gives  (3). 
Expansion  of  (5)  would  give,  "  We  are  the  superior  power  ; 
we  may  offer  peace  with  honor  and  with  safety."  Expansion 
of  (7)  gives,  "The  colonies  are  the  weaker;  the  concession 
of  the  colonies  would  be  the  concession  of  fear."  Still  other 
syllogisms  are  obviously  suggested  :  — 

"(1)1  mean  to  give  peace.  (2)  Peace  imjjlies  reconciliation; 
and  where  there  has  been  a  material  dispute,  reconciliation 
does  in  a  manner  always  imply  concession  on  the  one  part  or 
on  the  other.  (3)  In  this  state  of  things  I  make  no  difficulty 
in  affirming  that  the  i3roposal  ought  to  originate  from  us.  (4) 
Great  and  acknowledged  force  is  not  impaired,  either  in  effect 
or  in  opinion,  by  an  unwillingness  to  exert  itself.  (5)  The 
superior  power  may  offer  peace  with  honor  and  with  safety. 
(6)  Such  an  offer  from  such  a  power  will  be  attributed  to  mag- 
nanimity. (7)  But  the  concessions  of  the  weak  are  the  con- 
cessions of  fear.  (8)  When  such  a  one  is  disarmed,  he  is  wholly 
at  the  mercy  of  his  superior  ;  and  he  loses  forever  that  time  and 
those  chances,  which,  as  they  happen  to  all  men,  are  the  strength 
and  resources  of  all  inferior  j^ower." 

The  same  argument  may  be  presented  in  many  forms. 

(1)  A  well-policed  city  will  be  free  from  crime  ; 
Forms  Berlin  is  a  well-policed  city  ;  Berlin  will  be  free 

from  crime. 

(2)  If  a  well-policed  city  will  be  free  from  crime,  Berlin  will 
be  free  from  crime,  for  it  is  well  policed. 

(3)  If  Berlin  is  well  policed,  it  will  be  free  from  crime,  for  a 
well-policed  city  will  be  free  from  crime. 

1  Select  Works,  1. 167. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  93 

(4)  Berlin  ought  to  be  free  from  crime  ;  for  it  is  a  well-po- 
liced city. 

(5)  Any  well-policed  city  is  likely  to  be  free  from  crime  ; 
Berlin  ought,  therefore,  to  be  free  from  crime. 

(6)  Any  well-policed  city  will  be  free  from  crime,  and  Berlin 
is  well  policed. 

Those  following  the  first  form  differ  from  it  in  either 
having  a  conditional  premise,  or  in  being  abbreviated 
forms,  that  is,  enthymemes.  Clauses  introduced  by 
"  because,"  ^'  since,"  "  for,"  are  usually  premises  of  en- 
thymemes ;  and  those  introduced  by  "  hence,"  "  there- 
fore," "  consequently,"  are  frequently  conclusions  in 
that  form  of  argument.  There  are  two  obvious  advan- 
tages of  the  enthymeme,  —  conciseness,  and  the  avoid 
ance  of  what  might  seem  a  mere  truism  if  expressed. 
In  literature  and  in  actual  life,  this  abridged  form  of 
argument  is  by  far  the  most  common ;  for  example :  — 

"  Blessed  are  the  merciful  ;  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy." 
"  Man,  being  rational,  is  accountable  for  his  actions." 
"  Classical  learning,  since  it  tends  to  withdraw  the  mind  from 
low  pursuits  by  creating  a  taste  for  intellectual  enjoyments,  de- 
serves to  be  promoted." 

"  Every  man  should  be  moderate,  for  excess  causes  disease." 
"  If  he  has  never  been  on  a  quest  for  buried  treasure,  it  can 
be  demonstrated  that  he  has  never  been  a  child." 

"If  Pitt  had  carried  out  Adam  Smith's  doctrines  of  Free 
Trade,  he  would  have  been  a  great  and  useful  minister  ;  but 
he  did  not." 

"  The  several  species  of  brutes  being  created  to  prey  upon 
each  other,  proves  that  man  was  intended  to  prey  upon  them." 
"  The  use  of  intoxicants  should  not  be  prohibited  by  law  ; 
for  this  would  be  tg  restrict  individual  lil)erty,  and  such  restric- 
tion by  law  is  impolitic." 

"  It  is  the  fashion  just  now,  as  you  very  well  know,  to  erect 
so-called  Universities,  without  making  any  provision  in  them  at 


94  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

all  for  Theological  chairs.  Institutions  of  this  kind  exist  both 
here  (Ireland)  and  in  England.  Such  a  procedure,  though 
defended  by  writers  of  the  generation  just  passed  with  much 
plausible  argument  and  not  a  little  wit,  seems  to  me  an  intel- 
lectual absurdity  ;  and  my  reason  for  saying  so  runs,  with  what- 
ever abruptness,  into  the  form  of  a  syllogism  :  —  A  University, 
I  should  lay  down,  by  its  very  name  professes  to  teach  universal 
knowledge  ;  Theology  is  surely  a  branch  of  knowledge  ;  how 
then  is  it  possible  for  it  to  profess  all  branches  of  knowledge, 
and  yet  to  exclude  from  the  subjects  of  its  teaching  one  which, 
to  say  the  least,  is  as  important  and  as  large  as  any  of  them  ? 
I  do  not  see  that  either  premise  of  this  argument  is  open  to 
exception."  * 

"  It  has  often  been  asked,  what  was  the  cause  of  the  instanta- 
neous and  wide-spread  popularity  of  Cfiilde  Harold,  which  Byron 
himself  so  well  expressed  in  the  saying,  '  I  awoke  one  morning 
and  found  myself  famous.'  Chief  among  the  secondary  causes 
was  the  warm  sympathy  between  the  poet  and  his  readers,  the 
direct  interest  of  his  theme  for  the  time.  In  the  spring  of  1812 
England  was  in  the  very  crisis  of  a  struggle  for  existence.  It 
was  just  before  Napoleon  set  out  for  Moscow.  An  English 
army  was  standing  on  the  defensive  in  Portugal,  with  difficulty 
holding  its  own  ;  the  nation  was  trembling  for  its  safety.  The 
dreaded  Bonaparte's  next  movement  was  uncertain  ;  it  was 
feared  that  it  might  be  against  our  own  shores.  Rumor  was 
busy  with  alarms.  All  through  the  country  men  were  arming 
and  drilling  for  self-defense.  The  heart  of  England  was  beat- 
ing high  with  patriotic  resolution. 

"  AVhat  were  our  poets  doing  in  the  midst  of  all  this  ?  Scott, 
then  at  the  head  of  the  tuneful  brotherhood  in  popular  favor, 
was  celebrating  the  exploits  of  William  of  Deloraine  and  Mar- 
mion.  .  .  .  Southey  was  floundering  in  the  dim  sea  of  Hindu 
mythology.  Rogers  was  content  with  his  Pleasures  of  Memory. 
.  .  .  Moore  confined  himself  to  political  squibs  and  wanton 
little  lays  for  the  boudoir.  It  was  no  wonder  that,  when  at  last 
a  poet  did  appear  whose  impulses  were  not  merely  literary,  who 
felt  in  what  century  he  was  living,  whose  artistic  creations  were 
1  Cardinal  Newman,  The  Idaa  of  a  University,  19. 


CLASSES    OF    AEGUMENTS.  95 

throbbing  with  the  life  of  his  own  age,  a  crowd  at  once  gathered 
to  hear  the  new  singer.  There  was  not  a  parish  in  Great  Britain 
in  which  there  was  not  some  household  that  had  a  direct  per- 
sonal interest  in  the  scene  of  the  pilgrim's  travels  — '  some 
friend,  some  brother  there.'  The  effect  was  not  confined  to 
England  ;  Byron  at  once  had  all  Europe  as  his  audience,  be- 
cause he  spoke  to  them  on  a  theme  in  which  they  were  all 
deeply  concerned.  He  spoke  to  them,  too,  in  language  which 
was  not  merel}^  a  naked  expression  of  their  most  intense  feel- 
ings ;  the  spell  by  which  he  held  them  was  all  the  stronger  that 
he  lifted  them  with  the  irresistible  power  of  his  song  above  the 
passing  anxieties  of  the  moment.  Loose  and  rambling  as  Childe 
Harold  is,  it  yet  had  for  the  time  an  unconscious  art ;  it  entered 
the  absorbing  tumult  of  a  hot  and  feverish  struggle,  and  opened 
a  way  in  the  dark  clouds  gathering  over  the  combatants  through 
which  they  could  see  the  blue  vault  and  the  shining  stars.  .  .  . 
In  that  terrible  time  of  change,  when  every  state  in  Europe  was 
shaken  to  its  foundation,  there  was  a  profound  meaning  in 
placing  before  men's  eyes  the  departed  greatness  of  Greece  ; 
it  rounded  off  the  troubled  scene  with  dramatic  propriety. 
Even  the  mournful  scepticism  of  Childe  Harold  was  not  re- 
sented at  a  time  when  it  lay  at  the  root  of  every  heart  to  ask, 
'  Is  there  a  God  in  heaven  to  see  such  desolation,  and  withhold 
His  hand?'  "i 

These  examples  serve  to  show  some  of  the  ways  in 
which  stiff  and  tedious  syllogistic  forms  of  argument 
may   be    modified.      There    is    variation    in    the    form 
of  propositions,  changed  order  of  premises, 
transposition  of   terms,  abridgment,  amplifi-  Examples 
cation.     In  the  last  two,  reasons  are  given  ^^**^* 
for  the  truth  of  the  premises ;  but  the  premises  appear 
as  such.     No  explanation  or  illustration  will   be   mis- 
taken   for   premises,  nor   do    subordinate    propositions 
and  irrelevant  matter  conceal  premises.    The  connection 

^  William  Miuto  on  Byron,  in  Encyclopxdia  Britannica. 


96  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGU]VIENTATION. 

between  arguments  and  conclusion  is  apparent.  Neither 
metaphors  nor  equivocal  terms  confuse  the  reasoning. 
Chains  of  argument  consist  either  of  full  syllogisms 
or,  more  often,  of  enthymemes,  where  the  conclusion  of 
one  argument  is  taken  for  a  premise  in  the  next,  the 

conclusion  of  this  for  a  premise  in  a  third, 
Reasonijfff      and  SO  on  to  a   final   conclusion.     If  every 

step  is  guarded,  every  proposition  fully  con- 
firmed, the  final  conclusion  may  be  made  peculiarly 
convincing.  Paul  uses  this  form  of  argument  in  his 
letters :  — 

"Xow  if  Christ  be  preached  that  he  rose  from  the  dead, 
how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is  no  resurrection  of  the 
dead  ?  But  if  there  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is 
Christ  not  risen  ;  and  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our 
preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain.  Yea,  and  we  are 
found  false  witnesses  of  God,  because  we  have  testified  of  God 
that  he  raised  up  Christ."  ' 

"  And  we  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God,  to  them  that  are  called  according  to  his 
purpose.  For,  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestin- 
ate ;  .  .  .  Whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called  ; 
whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified  ;  and  whom  he  justi- 
fied, them  he  also  glorified."  ^ 

"It  is  true,  of  course,  that  the  immediate  reason  for  ac- 
cepting the  beliefs  of  revealed  religion  is  that  the  religion  iy 
revealed.  But  it  is  thought  to  be  revealed  because  it  was 
promulgated  by  teachers  who  were  inspired  ;  the  teachers  are 
thought  to  be  inspired  because  they  worked  miracles  ;  and  they 
are  thought  to  have  worked  miracles  because  there  is  historical 
evidence  of  the  fact,  which  it  is  supposed  would  be  more  than 
sufficient  to  produce  conviction  in  any  unbiased  mind."  ^ 

The  honest  arguer  as  well  as  the  reasoner  must  be 

1 1.  Corinthians,  xv.  12-15.  2  j^ia,  yiii.  29-30.     See  also  page  93. 

3  Balfour,  Foundations  of  Belief,  184. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  97 

continually  on  liis  guard  against  fallacies,  "  those  un- 
sound modes  of  arguing  which  seem  to  demand  con- 
viction, to  decide  the  question  in  hand,  when 
in  reality  they  do  not."  Deductive  argument  Deduction^ 
is  very  liable  to  fallacy ;  for  in  extended  dis- 
cussions its  propositions  are  easily  covered  up  and 
disguised  with  the  facts,  principles  and  illustrations 
put  forward  to  sustain  them.  They  are  perverted  by 
using  terms  in  one  place  with  one  meaning,  in  another 
place  with  another  meaning;  by  misinterpreting  the 
grammatical  construction ;  by  asserting  of  things  singly 
in  one  place  what  is  shown  to  be  true  of  them  only  col- 
lectively in  another;  or  by  asserting  as  true  under  a 
condition  what  would  be  true  only  without  the  condi- 
tion, and  vice  versa.  Most  of  these  are  logical  fallacies, 
and  are  detected  by  applying  the  rules  for  the  syllo- 
gism. Deductive  reasoning  is  formally  correct,  if  the 
conclusion  follows  from  the  premises,  but  it  may  be 
materially  wrong.  It  is  materially  correct  only  when 
the  premises  are  true,  and  the  conclusion  necessarily 
follows.  In  this  case  its  conclusions  are  irrefutable. 
In  other  cases  they  may  be  refuted  by  proving  a  pre- 
mise false,  or  by  showing  that  the  conclusion  does  not 
necessarily  follow,  or  by  proving  the  conclusion  false 
directly,  with  stronger  evidence  than  has  been  used  to 
support  the  premises. 

A  common  fallacy  in  deductive  reasoning  is  begging 
the  question,  ov lyetitio  principii.     Of  this  Jevons  says: 

"  Another  apt  name  for  the  fallacy  is  circidus  in  prohando, 
or  '  a  circle  in  the  proof.'     It  consists  in  taking  the   Petitio 
conclusion  itself  as  one  of  the  premises  of  an  argu-   PrindpH. 
ment.     Of  course  the  conclusion  of  a  syllogism  must  always 


98  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGTBrENTATION. 

be  contained  or  implied  in  the  premises,  but  only  when  those 
premises  are  combined,  and  are  distinctly  different  assertions 
from  the  conclusion.     Thus  in  the  syllogism, 

^is  0, 

J.  is  jB, 
therefore  A  is  C, 
the  conclusion  is  proved  by  being  deduced  from  two  proposi- 
tions, neither  of  which  is  identical  with  it ;  but  if  the  truth  of 
one  of  these  premises  itself  depends  upon  the  following  syllo- 
gism, 

CisB, 

J.  is  C, 
therefore  A  is  B, 
it  is  plain  we  attempt  to  prove  a  proposition  by  itself,  which  is 
as  reasonable  as  trying  to  support  a  body  ujion  itself."  ' 

Professor  Hill  illustrates  this  fallacy  by  an  anecdote : 

"  A  woman,  on  seeing  a  very  small  porringer,  said  to  a  child, 
'  That  must  have  been  a  little  wee  bear's  porringer,  it  is  so 
small,'  and  then  added,  '  He  must  have  been  smaller  than  we 
thought,  mustn't  he?'  To  assume  that  the  bear  was  very 
small  in  order  to  prove  that  the  porringer  was  his,  and  then 
from  the  fact  that  the  porringer  is  small  to  infer  that  the  bear 
must  have  been  very  small,  is  manifestly  to  beg  the  question."  ^ 

"Circumstances  must  not  be  viewed  as  suspicious 
which  would  not  be  considered  suspicious  if  not  viewed 
with  a  crime  in   the  background."  ^     To  assume  the 

crime  in  order  to  make  the  circumstances  sus- 
Exampies       picious,  and  then  to  use  the  circumstances  as 

evidence  of  the  crime,  is  begging  the  cjues- 
tion.  To  say  that  Vanderpool  killed  Field,^  in  order  to 
account  for  the  bloody  spots  on  the  sidewalk  by  the 
bank,  and  then  to  offer  these  spots  as  proof  of  the  kill- 
ing, is  manifestly  a  circulus  in  proando.     The  blood  was 

1  Lessons  in  Logic,  180.  2  Principles  of  Rhetoric,  344. 

3  H.  B.  Cheever  in  Modern  Jury  Trials,  304.     •*  Page  56. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  99 

later  shown  to  have  dripped  from  fishermen's  baskets. 
Certain  circumstances  attending  the  burning  of  a  man's 
house  would  have  been  very  suspicious  if  the  house  had 
been  burned  by  design.  He  had  just  increased  his  in- 
surance. He  had  just  moved  to  a  smaller  house.  He 
had  put  his  plate  in  a  bank  and  stored  his  surplus  fur- 
niture. It  would  be  manifestly  illogical  to  assume  that 
the  man  burned  his  house,  in  order  to  make  these  ante- 
cedent circumstances  seem  a  preparation  for  it,  and 
then  to  use  these  circumstances  to  prove  the  arson. 
The  burning  was  accidental.  An  opportunity  to  rent 
to  good  advantage,  and  the  necessity  for  an  insurance 
policy  of  a  given  amount  as  security  for  a  loan,  account 
for  all  the  circumstances  rendered  suspicious  by  assum- 
ing the  man's  guilt. 

Of  the  same  general  nature  is  the  assumption  of  the 
truth  of  a  premise  which  is  the  essential  thing  to  be 
proved ;  for  example,  ''  Every  state  should  enact  and 
enforce  prohibitory  liquor  laws ;  for  this  is 
the  best  tvay  to  control  the  liquor  traffic.'^  the  Truth  of 
One  may  beg  the  question  by  defining  a 
term  to  suit  his  present  purpose,  ignoring  both  its  con- 
nection and  its  accepted  meaning.  A  preacher,  argu- 
ing against  immersion  as  a  mode  of  baptism,  thus 
explained  the  passage :  ''  And  he  received  his  siglit 
forthwith,  and  arose,  and  was  baptized,"  —  "  Arose 
means  stood  up ;  how  could  a  man  be  immersed  stand- 
ing up?"  It  is  begging  the  question  to  conclude  that  a 
witness  is  telling  the  truth  because  he  says  he  is  ;  or  that 
a  book  is  the  genuine  work  of  a  certain  writer,  because 
it  contains  statements  or  intimations  that  it  is  his  work, 
—  for  example,  the  Pentateuch  or  John's  Gospel. 


100  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

A  fallacy  of  this  kind  may  lurk  in  a  single  word  or 
expression.  Bentliam  calls  tliese  "  question-begging 
epithets,"  and  instances  the  words  heresy  and  constitu- 
tion. A  religious  assembly  condemning  a 
Begging:  belief  because  it  is  "  heresy,"  begs  the  ques- 
^  ^  **  tion  ;  for  "  heresy  "  is  a  belief  that  ought  to 
be  condemned.  So  a  legislative  body  rejecting  a  meas- 
ure as  "  unconstitutional "  frequently  begs  the  question, 
the  unconstitutionality  not  having  been  shown.  It  is 
a  petitio  2)7'inei2:)ii  to  say,  the  cause  is  relevant  because 
it  is  a  cause,  when  it  has  not  been  shown  to  be  the  real 
or  only  cause.  To  say  that  insanity  is  likely  to  con- 
tinue because  it  is  chronic,  is  equivalent  to  saying 
chronic  insanity  is  chronic.  There  is  a  begging  of  the 
question  in  the  phrase  which  speaks  of  "the  taste  of 
the  public  " ;  it  assumes  that  there  is  one  public  hav- 
ing a  taste  in  common  with  all  its  members,  when  in 
fact,  there  is  an  infinite  number  of  publics  having 
widely  divergent  likes  and  dislikes. 

In  his  Book  of  FaUacies^^  Bentham  gives  this  illus- 
tration of  begging  the  question :  — 

"  Take,  for  example,  improvement  and  innovation  :  under  its 

own  name,  to  pass  censure  on  any  improvement  might  be  too 

bold  :  applied  to  such  an  object,  an}'  expressions  of  censure 

you  could  employ  might  lose  their  force  ;  emplo}'- 

Improvement  jj^^r  them,  yon  would  seem  to  be  runnini?  on  in  the 
and  Innova-        ®  '  -^^  ,.     .  ^  '^ 

tion.  track  of  self-contradiction  and  nonsense. 

"  But  improvement  means  something  new,  and 

so  does  innovation.     Happily  for  your  purpose,  innovation  has 

contracted  a  bad  sense  ;  it  means  something  which  is  new  and 

bad  at  the  same  time.     Improvement,  it  is  true,  in  indicating 

something  new,  indicates  something  good  at  the  same  time  ; 

and  therefore,  if  the  thing  in  question  be  good  as  well  as  new. 

1  Part  IV.,  Chap.  I. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  101 

innovation  is  not  a  proper  term  for  it.  However,  as  the  idea  of 
novelty  was  the  only  idea  originally  attached  to  the  term  innova- 
tion, and  the  only  one  which  is  directly  expressed  in  the  ety- 
mology of  it,  you  may  still  venture  to  employ  the  word  inno- 
vation, since  no  man  can  readily  and  immediately  convict 
your  appellation  of  being  an  improper  one  upon  the  face  of  it. 

"  With  the  appellation  thus  chosen  for  the  purpose  of  pass- 
ing condemnation  on  the  measure,  he  by  whom  it  has  been 
brought  to  view  in  the  character  of  an  improvement,  is  not  (it 
is  true)  very  likely  to  be  well  satisfied  ;  but  of  this  you  could 
not  have  had  any  expectation.  AVhat  you  want  is  a  pretence 
which  your  own  partisans  can  lay  hold  of,  for  the  jDurpose  of 
deducing  from  it  a  colorable  warrant  for  passing  upon  the 
improvement  that  censure  which  you  are  determined,  and 
they,  if  not  determined,  are  disposed  and  intend  to  pass  on  it. 

"  Of  this  instrument  of  deception,  the  potency  is  most 
deplorable."  ' 

The  reasoner  must  be  constantly  on  his  guard  against 
begging  the  question.     The  arguer  must  avoid  the  fal- 
lacy in  his  own  work,  and  expose  it  in  his  opjDonents. 
He  must  test  his  own  arguments,  his  defini- 
tions, his  epithets,  as  well  as  those  of  his  ad-  ^g^essary 
versar3^     Where  he  suspects   mere  assump- 
tion in  one  of  his  propositions,  the  throwing  of  his  ar- 
gument into  the  syllogistic  form  will  put  liim  in  a  way 
to  correct  it ;  and  the  calling  for  proof  of  an  opponent's 
premises  will  be  pretty  sure  to  expose  his  assumptions ; 
and  this  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  refutation  .^ 

Another  common  fallacy,  especialh'  among  those  \\'ho 
deliver  long  harangues,  is  that  of  the  Irrel- 
evant Conclusion.      The   teclmical  name   is   I^^ltT^V' 

Conclusion. 

ignoratio    elenchl    or    ignoring   the   proof   or 
refutation.     The  fallacy  consists  in  arguing  beside  the 

1  Part  IV.,  Chap.  I.  2  Page  206. 


102  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENT ATION. 

point  or  to  the  wrong  point.  It  proves  some  thing 
else  in  such  a  way  as  to  seem  to  prove  what  it  set 
out  to  prove,  or  to  make  listeners  forget  what  it  set 
out  to  prove.  The  disputant  ignorantly  or  purposely 
substitutes  a  new  conclusion  for  the  proposition  in  dis- 
pute. The  fallacy  is  most  successful  in  long  speeches 
where  "the  multitude  of  words  and  figures  leaves 
room  for  confusion  of  thought  and  for  forgetful- 
ness."  It  is  the  favorite  resource  of  those  defending  a 
weak  case.  "Though  the  gentleman  is  erratic  in  poli- 
tics, he  is  orthodox  in  religion,''  is  a  bald  example. 
To  prove  a  man's  honesty,  when  his  abilit}^  is  in  ques- 
tion ;  to  prove  a  congressman's  popularit}^  when  his 
statesmanship  is  under  dispute ;  to  show  that  a  scheme 
will  be  pecuniarily  remunerative,  when  the  issue  is  as 
to  its  moral  rightness,  —  is  to  argue  beside  the  point. 
One  form  of  this  fallacy  consists  in  proving  some- 
thing which  apparently  includes  the  point 
of  Terms^  at  issue  but  really  does  not  include  it.  If 
the  proposition  is,  "  The  soul  is  immortal," 
and  the  argument  is :  — 

'•  Whatever  is  eternal  has  neither  beginning  nor  end ; 
The  human  soul  has  a  beginning ; 
Therefore  the  human  soul  is  not  eternal ;  " 

the  argument  ignores  the  real  question,  which  is  as  to 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  not  as  to  its  eternity. 
Having  a  beginning  is  not  incompatible  with  immor- 
tality. 

The  argumentum  ad  hominem  is  directed,  not  to  the 
merits  of  the  point  at  issue,  but  to  the  character,  con- 
dition or  circumstances  of  tlie  person  engaged  in  tlie 
discussion.     Whately  defines  it  as  an  argument  "ad- 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  103 

dressed  to  the  peculiar  circumstances,  character,  avowed 
opinions  or  past  conduct  of  the  individual, 
and  therefore  having  reference  to  him  only,  a^^^mLew. 
and  not  bearing  directly  or  absolutely  on 
the  real  question."  The  argument  is  not  that  a  prin- 
ciple is  either  good  or  bad,  but  that  a  certain  man  can- 
not consistently  advocate  it  or  deny  it.  The  force  of  the 
argument,  if  it  has  any,  lies  in  exposing  an  opponent's 
insincerity  or  inconsistency.  Silencing  an  opponent, 
however,  is  not  equivalent  to  disproving  his  proposi- 
tion. Temperance  is  a  worthy  principle,  though  advo- 
cated by  a  drunkard.  The  duty  of  economy  is  no  less 
a  duty  because  urged  by  a  spendthrift.  If  a  new  law 
is  proposed,  to  argue  that  the  law  is  not  brought  for- 
ward by  the  right  person  is  irrelevant.  To  "  abuse  the 
plaintiff 's  attorney  "  for  prosecuting  a  case,  is  to  con- 
fess the  weakness  of  the  defence.  Burke  does  not  con- 
demn the  freeing  of  slaves,  he  only  shows  England's 
inconsistency  in  doing  so :  — 

"  Slaves  as  these  unfortunate  people  are,  and  dull  as  all  men 
are  from  slavery,  must  they  not  a  little  suspect  the  offer  of 
freedom  from  that  very  nation  which  has  sold  them  to  their 
present  masters?  —  from  that  nation,  one  of  whose  causes  of 
quarrel  with  those  masters  is  their  refusal  to  deal  any  more  in 
that  inhuman  traffic?  An  offer  of  freedom  from  England 
would  come  rather  oddly,  shipped  to  them  in  an  African  vessel 
which  is  refused  an  entry  into  the  ports  of  Virginia  or  Carolina 
with  a  cargo  of  three  hundred  Angola  negroes.  It  would  be 
curious  to  see  the  Guinea  captain  attempting  at  the  same 
instant  to  publish  his  proclamation  of  liberty,  and  to  advertise 
his  sale  of  slaves."  * 

Still  another  form  of  irrelevant  conclusion  is  the  argw- 

1  Select  Works,  I.  191. 


104         THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

mentum  ad  populu7n.  This  consists  in  addressing  to  a 
jury  or  a  crowd  arguments  "  calculated  to  excite  their 

feelings  and  prevent  them  from  forming  a 
l7 Populism      dispassionate  judgment  upon  the  matter  in 

hand."  It  is  a  favorite  device  of  criminal 
lawyers,  agitators  and  demagogues.  Mark  Antony's 
Speech  is  a  capital  example.  A  good  deal  of  the  polit- 
ical oratory  of  the  times  has  a  strong  flavor  of  tlie  Argu- 
mentum  ad  popidum  : — 

"  We  are  not  surprised  to  find  arraj^ed  against  us  those  who 
are  the  beneficiaries  of  government  favoritism  ;  they  have  read 
our  platform.  Nor  are  we  surprised  to  learn  that  we  must  in 
this  camj^aign  face  the  hostilit}'  of  those  who  find  a  pecuniary 
advantage  in  advocating  the  doctrine  of  non-interference  with 
great  aggregations  of  wealth  as  trespassing  upon  the  rights  of 
individuals. 

"  We  do  not  defend  the  occupation  of  a  highwayman  who 
robs  the  unsuspecting  traveller,  but  include  among  the  trans- 
gressors those,  who,  through  the  more  polite  and  less  hazardous 
means  of  legislation,  appropriate  to  their  own  use  the  proceeds 
of  the  toil  of  others. 

"  Xow  let  me  consider  the  paramount  question  of  this  cam- 
paign—  monfey.  The  gold  standard  has  been  weighed  in  the 
balance  and  found  wanting.  Take  from  it  the  powerful  support 
of  the  money-owning  and  the  money-changing  classes  and  it 
cannot  stand  for  one  day  in  any  nation  in  the  world.  It  was 
fastened  uj^on  the  United  States  without  discussion  before  the 
people,  and  its  friends  have  never  yet  been  willing  to  risk  a 
verdict  before  the  voters  upon  that  issue. 

"  The  farmers  are  opposed  to  the  gold  standard  because  they 
have  felt  its  effects.  Since  they  sell  at  wholesale  and  buy  at 
retail  they  have  lost  more  than  they  have  gained  by  falling 
prices,  and  besides  this,  they  have  found  that  certain  fixed 
charges  have  not  fallen  at  all.  Taxes  have  not  been  percepti- 
bly decreased,  although  it  requires  more  farm  products  now 
than  formerly  to  secure  the  money  with  which  to  pay  taxes. 


CLASSES    OF    AKGUMENTS.  105 

Debts  have  not  fallen.  The  farmer  Avho  owed  $1,000  is  still 
compelled  to  pay  !t?l,000,  although  it  may  be  twice  as  difficult 
as  formerly  to  obtain  the  dollar  with  which  to  pay  the  debt. 

"  Wage-earners  know  that  while  the  gold  standard  increases 
the  purchasing  power  of  the  dollar,  it  also  makes  it  more  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  possession  of  the  dollar.  They  know  that  em- 
ployment is  less  permanent  and  loss  of  work  more  probable. 
The  gold  standard  encourages  hoarding  of  money  because  money 
is  rising  ;  its  also  discourages  enterprise  and  paralyzes  industry. 

"  The  farmers  and  wage-earners  together  constitute  a  con- 
siderable majority  of  the  country.  Why  should  their  entreaties 
be  ignored  in  considering  financial  legislation  ? 

"  Savings  bank  depositors  know  that  under  a  gold  standard 
there  is  an  increasing  danger  that  they  may  lose  their  deposits 
because  of  inability  of  the  banks  to  collect  their  assets,  and 
they  still  further  know  that  if  the  gold  standard  is  to  continue 
indefinitel}^  they  may  be  compelled  to  withdraw  in  order  to  pay 
living  expenses. 

"  It  is  only  necessary  to  note  the  increasing  number  of  fail- 
ures in  order  to  know  that  the  gold  standard  is  ruinous  to  the 
merchants  and  manufacturers. 

"  Salaries  in  business  occupations  depend  upon  the  business 
conditions,  and  a  gold  standard  both  lessens  the  amount  and 
the  permanency  of  such  salaries."  ' 

Another  fallacy,  called  by  different  writers,  "Ambi- 
guity," "  Equivocation,"  ''Confusion  of  Terms,"  may  be 
discussed  under  irrelevant  conclusion.  Its  source  is 
the  ambiguity  or  indefiniteness  of  terms. 
What  is  true  of  a  word  used  in  a  particular 
sense,  is  treated  as  if  true  when  the  word  is  used  in 
another  sense  ;  or  Avords  from  the  same  radical,  or  of 
the  same  etymology,  or  tlie  same  form,  are  used  as  of 
identical  or  cognate  meaning.  When  an  attempt  is 
made  to  reduce  the  argument  containing  them  to  the 

1  Campaign  Speech,  New  York,  1896. 


106  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

syllogistic  form,  the  syllogism  is  usually  found  to  con- 
tain either  four  terms  or  an  ambiguous  middle  term. 
Many  examples  of  this  fallacy,  given  in  the  books,  show 
only  a  sort  of  verbal  jugglery;  but  in  discussions  of 
considerable  length  the  variation  in  the  meaning  of  the 
word  may  be  unnoticed,  and  the  fallacy,  because  subtle 
and  insidious,  may  easily  remain  concealed.  To  say 
that  every  believer  in  popular  government  should  be 
broadminded,  liberal,  and  ready  to  do  his  part  in  the 
public  service,  in  short,  democratic,  and  should  there- 
fore vote  the  democratic  ticket,  is  to  slip  into  this  fal- 
lacy. The  popular  meaning  of  "  democratic "  is  used 
in  the  first  instance ;  the  technical  or  political,  in  the 
second. 

*'  Often  the  ambiguity  is  of  a  subtle  and  difficult  character, 
so  that  different  opinions  may  be  held  concerning  it.  Thus  we 
might  argue :  — 

"  He  who  harms  another  should  be  punished.  He  who 
communicates  an  infectious  disease  to  another  person  harms 
him.  Therefore  he  who  communicates  an  infectious  disease 
to  another  person  should  be  punished. 

"  This  may  or  may  not  be  held  to  be  a  correct  argument, 
according  to  the  kinds  of  actions  we  should  consider  to  come 
under  the  term  harm,  according  as  we  regard  negligence  or 
malice  requisite  to  constitute  harm.     Many  difficult  legal  ques- 
tions are  of  this  nature,  as  for  instance  :  — 
Nuisances  are  punishable  by  law  ; 
To  keep  a  noisy  dog  is  a  nuisance  ; 
To  keep  a  noisy  dog  is  punishable  by  law. 
*'  The  question  here  would  turn  upon  the  degree  of  nuisance 
which  the  law  would  interfere  to  prevent.     Or  again  :  — 
Interference  with  another  man's  business  is  illegal : 
Underselling  interferes  with  another  man's  business  ; 
Therefore  underselling  is  illegal. 
"  Here  the  question  turns  upon  the  kind  of  interference,  and 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  107 

it  is  obvious  that  underselling  is  not  the  kind  of  interference 
referred  to  in  the  major  jiremise."  ' 

Among  instances  in  which  correct  reasoning  is  of  great 
practical  importance,  but  in  which  arguments  are  hab- 
itually founded  on  a  verbal  ambiguity,  Mill  gives  this : 

"  The  mercantile  public  arc  frequently  led  into  this  fallacy 
by  the  phrase  '  scarcity  of  money.'  In  the  lan- 
guage of  commerce,  '  money '  has  two  meanings  : 
currency,  or  the  circulating  medium  ;  and  capital  seeking  invest- 
ment, especially  investment  on  loan.  In  this  last  sense,  the 
word  is  used  when  the  '  money  market '  is  spoken  of,  and  when 
the  'value  of  money'  is  said  to  be  high  or  low,  the  rate  of 
interest  being  meant.  The  consequence  of  this  ambiguity  is, 
that  as  soon  as  scarcity  of  money  in  the  latter  of  these  senses 
begins  to  be  felt,  —  as  soon  as  there  is  difficulty  of  obtaining 
loans,  and  the  rate  of  interest  is  high,  —  it  is  concluded  that 
this  must  arise  from  causes  acting  upon  the  quantity  of  money 
in  the  other  and  more  popular  sense  ;  that  the  circulating 
medium  must  have  diminished  in  quantity,  or  ought  to  be 
increased.  I  am  aware  that,  independently  of  the  double 
meaning  of  the  term,  there  are  in  the  facts  themselves  some 
peculiarities,  giving  an  apparent  support  to  this  error  ;  but  the 
ambiguity  of  the  language  stands  on  the  very  threshold  of  the 
subject,  and  intercepts  all  attempts  to  throw  light  upon  it."  ^ 

Fallacies  of  this  sort  may  be  avoided  in  one's  own 
arguments,  and  exposed  in  the  work  of  one's  opponent, 
by  carefully  defining  terms,  and  insisting  on  a  rigid  ad- 
herence to  the  one  meaning  wherever  the  term  is  used. 

Some   processes   are    devices   too   transparent  to  be 
called  fallacies.     Among  these  are,  —  shift- 
ing ground,  that  is,  abandoning  the  original  sopWsts' 
proposition  for  something  allied  or  suggested, 
when  the  debater  finds  himself  cornered ;  objecting  to 

1  Jevons,  Lessons  in  Logic,  171.  2  Logic,  564. 


108  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGU]VIENTAT10N. 

some  part  of  a  proposition  and  claiming  to  have  over- 
thrown it  entirely ;  proving  but  part  and  claiming  the 
whole  ;  asking  questions  in  such  a  form  that  a  categori- 
cal answer  traps  the  respondent ;  perverting  the  mean- 
ing of  a  proposition  by  emphasis.  These  are  rather 
tricks  of  the  sophist  or  demagogue  than  fallacies  of  the 
reasoner. 

Inductive  argument  goes  from  particulars  to  generals, 
from  special  instances  or  single  facts  to  a  general  truth, 
law  or  jjrinciple.  Facts  are  learned  from  ex2:)erience,  by 
observation,  or  through  inference  from  other 
Arg:ument  facts.  Howcver  learned,  they  are  compared, 
and  from  them  inferences  are  made  of  other 
facts  not  3^et  known,  or  of  general  truths  to  which  the 
individual  facts  are  related.  Thus  in  the  general  state- 
ment of  the  deductive  syllogism  :  — 

"■  All  men  are  mortal  ; 
Csesar  was  a  man  ; 
Cfesar  was  mortal  ; '' 

the  general  assertion  is  based  on  known  instances  of 
mortality.  The  general  statement  includes  more,  how- 
ever, than  the  sum  of  known  facts.  It  assumes  that 
what  is  true  of  instances  in  past  generations  will  be 
true  of  those  in  present  and  future  generations. 

Oak  wood  exposed  to  fire,  burns ;  so  does  pine,  hem- 
lock, birch,  maple,  ash,  or  hickory ;  it  is  to  be  inferred, 
therefore,  that  all  wood  is  combustible.  Lead,  subjected 
to  heat,  melts  ;  so  does  iron  ;  so  does  silver ;  so 
"  does  any  one  of  a  dozen  other  metals ;  it  is 
therefore  concluded  that  metals  generally  are  fusible. 
This  week  a  gentle  southwest  wind  is  followed  by  rain  : 
last  week  there  was  the  same  occurrence  ;  last  montli 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  109 

this  happened  several  times  ;  it  is  inferred,  then,  that 
when  the  wind  blows  gently  from  the  sonthwest,  rain 
may  be  expected.  In  all  these  cases,  what  is  known  to 
be  true  of  single  things  is  inferred  to  be  trne  of  the  class 
to  which  they  belong ;  what  is  learned  of  a  single  in- 
stance is  inferred  of  like  instances.  This  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  Induction. 

"  The  process  of  inference,  however,  never  takes  place 
without  some  knowledge  of  the  way  things  and  qualities 
and  events  are  connected  in  pairs  or  groups  or  chains, 
by  natural   law.  .  .  .     The  special  circum- 
stances of  every  occurrence  are  so  many  marks  ^^"ctfon 
or  signs  or  indications,  and  get  their  signifi- 
cance from  our  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature  gener- 
ally.    Whether  the  given  inference  be  right  or  wrong, 
whether  it  be  express  and  deliberate,  or  rapid  and  free, 
whether  it  take  the  form  of  a  cut-and-dried  syllogism,  or 
an  argument  from  analogy  ^  or  from  circumstantial  evi- 
dence, in  all  cases  equally,  it  is  our  beliefs  about  the 
way  things  hang  together  in  Nature  that  provide  alike 
the  sole  motive  power  of  inference  and  the  sole  foun- 
dation on  which  we  rest  our  proof."  ^ 

Perfect  induction  is  inference  based  on  all  possible  in- 
stances ;  the  general  statement  merely  sums  up  all  par- 
ticulars.    An  inference  based  on  an  observation  of  less 

than  all  individual  cases,  is  an  imijerfect  in-  „   ,   ^     ^ 

'  ^     ^  Perfect  and 

duction.   But  whether  perfect  or  imperfect,  in-  imperfect 
duction  is  a  legitimate  and  valuable  means  of 
extending  knowledge.  Indeed  it  is  claimed  by  some  to  be 
the  only  process  of  reasoning  that  furnishes  knowledge  at 
all,  and  to  be  the  ultimate  source  of  all  knowledge. 

1  Page  158.  -  Sidgwick,  Process  of  Argwne/it,  44. 


110  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

Much  of  the  knowledge  attained  by  induction  must 

be  more  or  less  uncertain,  for  it  is  rarely  possible  to 

observe   all  instances.     In  common  affairs  where   not 

much  is  at  stake,  men  act  on  loose  generali- 

Numberof      nations  from   few  instances.     The  value  of 
Instances. 

most  scientific  conclusions  is  due  to  the  long, 
careful,  patient  investigation  of  facts  from  which  they 
are  inferred,  —  facts  abundant,  uniform,  uncontradicted, 
and  pointing  in  the  same  direction.  The  conclusions 
of  Laws  and  Gilbert  on  soils  and  fertilizers  are  based  on 
the  carefully  guarded  experiments  of  more  than  fifty 
years.  In  his  Origin  of  Species  ^  Darwin  hints  at  the 
number  of  instances  taken  into  account  for  some  of  his 
inferences :  — 

"  I  am  tempted  to  give  one  more  instance  showing  how  plants 
and  animals,  remote  in  the  scale  of  nature,  are  bound  together 
by  a  web  of  complex  relations.  I  shall  hereafter  have  occasion 
to  show  that  the  exotic  Lobelia  fulgens  is  never  visited  in  my 
garden  by  insects,  and  consequently,  from  its  peculiar  structure, 
never  sets  a  seed.  ^N" early  all  our  orchidaceous  plants  absolutely 
require  the  visits  of  insects  to  remove  their  pollen-masses  and 
thus  to  fertilize  them.  I  find  from  experiment  that  humble- 
bees  are  almost  indispensable  to  the  fertilization  of  the  hearts- 
ease (Viola  tricolor),  for  other  bees  do  not  visit  this  flower. 
I  have  also  found  that  the  visits  of  bees  are  necessary  for  the 
fertilization  of  some  kinds  of  clover  :  for  instance,  20  heads  of 
Dutch  clover  (Trifolium  repens)  yielded  2290  seeds,  but  20 
other  heads  protected  from  bees  produced  not  one.  Again, 
100  heads  of  red  clover  (T.  pratense)  produced  2700  seeds,  but 
the  same  number  of  protected  heads  produced  not  a  single 
seed.  Humble-bees  alone  visit  red  clover,  as  other  bees  can- 
not reach  the  nectar.  It  has  been  suggested  that  moths  may 
fertilize  the  clovers  ;  but  I  doubt  whether  they  could  do  so  in 
the  case  of  the  red  clover,  from  their  weight  not  being  sufficient 

1  Chapter  III. 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  Ill 

to  depress  the  wing-petals.  Hence  we  may  infer  as  highly 
probable  that,  if  the  whole  genus  of  humble-bees  became  ex- 
tinct or  very  rare  in  England,  the  heartsease  and  red  clover 
would  become  very  rare,  or  wholly  disappear.  The  number 
of  humble-bees  in  any  district  depends  in  a  great  measure  on 
the  number  of  field-mice,  which  destroy  their  combs  and  nests; 
and  Colonel  Newman,  who  has  long  attended  to  the  habits  of 
humble-bees,  believes  that  '  more  than  two  thirds  of  them  are 
thus  destroyed  all  over  England.'  Now  the  number  of  mice  is 
largely  dependent,  as  every  one  knows,  on  the  number  of  cats; 
and  Colonel  Newman  says,  'Near  villages  and  small  towns  I 
have  found  the  nests  of  humble-bees  more  numerous  than  else- 
where, which  I  attribute  to  the  number  of  cats  that  destroy 
the  mice.'  Hence  it  is  quite  credible  that  the  presence  of  a 
feline  animal  in  large  numbers  in  a  district  might  determine, 
through  the  intervention  first  of  mice  and  then  of  bees,  the 
frequency  of  certain  flowers  in  that  district  !  " 

The  term,  Scientific  Induction,  is  applied  only  to 
inferences  amounting  to  a  general  law,  general  cause 
or  empiric  fact.^  Other  inductions  are  called  loose. 
Loose  and  "^^^  difference  between  loose  and  scientific 
Scientific  induction  lies  in  the  greater  care  with 
which  conclusions  are  reached.  This  care 
extends  to  the  kind  of  instances  selected  or  provided, 
their  number,  their  scrutiny,  and  caution  against  error 
in  every  step  of  reasoning.  The  law  of  gravitation  is 
an  induction  of  the  highest  order.  "  Familiarity  breeds 
contempt,"  is  a  loose  induction,  but  answers  the  pur- 
pose of  a  ''  rough  and  ready  "  rule  for  the  conduct  of 
prudent  people.  Huxley  has  in  mind  these  two  kinds 
of  reasoning  in  the  following  paragraphs  :  — 

"  So  far  as  I  can  arrive  at  any  clear  apprehension  of  the 
matter,  science  is  not,  as  many  would  seem  to  suppose,  a  modi- 

1  Page  113. 


112  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

fication  of  the  black  art,  suited  to  the  tastes  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  flourishing  mainly  in  consequence  of  the  decay  of 
the  Inquisition.  Science  is,  I  believe,  nothing  but  trained  and  or- 
ganized common  sense,  differing  from  the  latter  only  as  a  veteran 
may  differ  from  a  raw  recruit ;  and  its  methods  differ  from 
those  of  common  sense  only  so  far  as  the  guardsman's  cut 
and  thrust  differ  from  the  manner  in  which  a  savage  wields  his 
club.  The  primary  power  is  the  same  in  each  case,  and  per- 
haps the  untutored  savage  has  the  more  brawny  arm  of  the 
two.  The  real  advantage  lies  in  the  point  and  polish  of  the 
swordsman's  weapon  ;  in  the  trained  eye  quick  to  spy  out 
the  weakness  of  the  adversary  ;  in  the  ready  hand,  prompt  to 
follow  it  on  the  instant.  But,  after  all,  the  sword  exercise  is 
only  the  hewing  and  poking  of  the  club-man  developed  and 
perfected. 

"  The  vast  results  obtained  by  science  are  won  by  no  mys- 
tical faculties,  by  no  mental  processes  other  than  those  that 
are  practiced  by  every  one  of  us  in  the  humblest  and  meanest 
affairs  of  life.  A  detective  policeman  discovers  a  burglar  from 
the  marks  made  by  his  shoe,  by  a  mental  process  identical  with 
that  by  which  Cuvier  restored  the  extinct  animals  of  Mont- 
martre  from  fragments  of  their  bones.  Nor  does  that  process 
of  induction  and  deduction  by  which  a  lady,  finding  a  stain  of 
a  peculiar  kind  upon  her  dress,  concludes  that  somebody  has 
upset  the  inkstand  thereon,  differ  in  any  way  in  kind  from  that 
by  which  Adams  and  Leverrier  discovered  a  new  planet. 

"The  man  of  science,  in  fact,  simply  uses  with  scrupulous 
exactness  the  methods  which  we  all,  habitually,  and  at  every 
moment,  use  carelessly  ;  and  the  man  of  business  must  as 
much  avail  himself  of  the  scientific  method,  must  as  truly  be 
a  man  of  science,  as  the  veriest  book-worm  of  us  all  ;  though  I 
have  no  doubt  that  the  man  of  business  will  find  himself  out 
to  be  a  philosopher,  with  as  much  surprise  as  M.  Jourdain 
exhibited  when  he  discovered  that  he  had  been  all  his  life 
talking  prose."  ' 

"  By  Empiric  Fact  is  meant  that  two  phenomena  are 

1  Science  and  Education  Essays,  45. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUlVrENTS.  113 

always  found  associated,  so  that  when  we  see  one  we 
expect  to  see  the  other,  although  no  direct  causal  rela- 
tion between  the  two  has  been  established. 
Thus  in  zoology  the  presence  of   occipital  p^^l^^^ 
condyles    is    uniformly  associated  with   the 
presence  of  mammae  and  of  warm,  red  blood ;  and  this 
general  fact  is  treated  as  a  quasi  induction.^     Hence, 
when  the  remains  of  a  new  animal  are  discovered,  ex- 
hibiting such  condyles,  the  zoologist  infers,  by  deduc- 
tion, that  the  animal  belonged  to  the  class  Mammalia."  ^ 

Next  in  force  to  the  perfect  induction,  is  the  infer- 
ence based  on  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect.     Where 
there  is  smoke  there  is  fire ;  where  there  is  ice  forming, 
there  is  low  temperature.     The  force  of  the 
argument  lies   in    the    relation    of   fire    and  ^j^ec^t^^ 
smoke,  low  temperature  and  ice.     The  one 
is  said  to  cause  the  other.     When  the  effect  is  present 
the  cause  must  be.     There  is  perfect  regularity  of  se- 
quence.   The  ascertaining  or  testing  of  cause  and  effect, 
is  a  large  part  of  inductive  science,  i.  e.,  of  investi- 
gation.    What  cause  is  in  science,  motive  is  in  human 
action.     A  large  part  of  forensic  argumentation  is  oc- 
cupied in  showing  that  certain  deeds  are  to  be  attrib- 
uted to  certain  motives. 

The  method  in  either  of  these  cases  is  hypothesis^ 
and  verification.  "  When  facts  are  in  our  possession, 
we  frame  an  hypothesis,  i.  e.,  we  assume  provisionally 


1  See  also  Sidgwick,  Process  of  Arrfument,  80,  et  seq.  "  Tliere  is  one 
class  of  generalizations  .  .  .  wiiicli  no  one  ever  really  doubts  when  once 
their  meaning  is  seen  .  .  .  and  of  these,  merely  '  empirical  '  generali- 
zations lie  at  one  end  of  the  scale,  and  '  scientific  '  generalizations,  at 
the  other." 

2  J,  M.  Hart,  Handbook  of  English  Composition,  110. 
8  Page  129. 


114  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

a  cause  or  motive  to  explain  their  relations;   and  the 
value  of  the  hj^pothesis  is  to  be  judged  by 
and  verif ica-  the  success  of  this  explanation.     In  the  in- 
**°^*  vention  and  treatment  of  such  hypotheses,  we 

must  avail  ourselves  of  the  whole  body  of  science 
already  accumulated ;  and  when  we  once  have  obtained 
a  probable  hj^pothesis,  we  must  not  rest  till  we  have 
verified  it  by  comparison  with  new  facts.  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  made  frequent  use  of  hypothesis  in  all  of  his 
investigations."  ^ 

The  complete  method  embraces  induction,  deduction 
and  verification. 

"The  first  process  consists  in  such  a  rough  and  simple  ap- 
peal to  experience  as  may  give  us  a  glimpse  of  the  laws  which 
operate,  without  being  sufficient  to  establish  their  truth.     As- 
suming them  as  provisionally  true,  we  then  proceed 

Complete  ^^  arffue  to  their  effects  in  other  cases,  and  a  fur- 
Metlioa.  o  . 

ther  appeal  to  experience  either  vermes  or  nega- 
tives the  truth  of  the  laws  assumed.  There  are,  in  short,  two 
appeals  to  experience,  connected  by  the  intermediate  use  of 
reasoning.  Newton,  for  instance,  having  passed  a  ray  of  sun- 
light through  a  glass  prism  found  that  it  was  spread  out  into  a 
series  of  colors  resembling  those  of  the  rainbow.  He  adopted 
the  theory  that  white  light  was  actually  composed  of  a  mixture 
of  different  colored  lights,  which  became  separated  in  passing 
through  the  prism.  He  saw  that  if  this  were  true,  and  he  were 
to  pass  an  isolated  ray  of  the  spectrum,  for  instance,  the  yellow 
ray,  through  a  second  prism,  it  ought  not  to  be  again  broken 
up  into  different  colors,  but  should  remain  yellow  whatever  was 
afterwards  done  with  it.  On  trial  he  found  this  to  be  the  case, 
and  afterwards  devised  a  succession  of  similar  confirmatory 
experiments,  which  verified  his  theory  beyond  all  possible 
doubt."  2 

"  The  successive  steps  in  investigation  are,  first,  observation 

1  Education,  June,  1896,  599.         2  Jevons,  Lessons  in  Logic,  259. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  115 

and  description,  next  classification  and  generalization,  aided 
by  invention,  to  account  for  puzzling  facts,  and  ending  in  the 
formal  statement  of  an  hypothesis  or  theor}-.  Then  follows 
proof  of  the  theory  by  deduction  of  consequences  and  by 
comparison  of  these  with  relevant  facts.  The  simplest  prob- 
lems involve  only  the  first  steps  in  this  train  ;  the  most  com- 
plex require  them  all."  * 

Mr.  Mill  has  laid  down  in  his  Logic^  certain  canons  to 
guide  in  the  search  for  general  truths  or  laws 
of  nature,  among  the  facts  obtained  by  obser-  Canons, 
vation  or  experiment  and  involving  the  rela- 
tion of  cause  and  effect.     These  canons  are  slightly  mod- 
ified by  Professor  Jevons^:  — 

"1.  Method  of  Agreement,  ^—li  two  or  more  instances  of  the 
phenomenon  under  investigation  have  only  one  circumstance 
in  common,  the  circumstance  in  which  alone  all  the  instances 
agree,  is  the  cause  (or  effect)  of  the  given  phenomenon  ;  i.e., 
the  sole  inrariahJe  antecedent  of  a  2)henomenon  is  prohcd)ly  its 
cause. 

"2.  Method  of  Difference.  —  If  an  instance  in  which  the 
phenomenon  under  investigation  occurs,  and  an  instance  in 
which  it  does  not  occur,  have  every  circumstance  in  common 
save  one,  that  one  occurring  only  in  the  former  ;  the  circum- 
stance in  which  alone  the  two  instances  differ,  is  the  effect,  or 
the  cause,  or  an  indispensable  part  of  the  cause,  of  the  phe- 
nomenon. 

"  3.  Joint  Metliod.  —  If  two  or  more  instances  in  which  the 
phenomenon  occurs  have  only  one  circumstance  in  common, 
while  two  or  more  instances  in  which  it  does  not  occur  have 
nothing  in  connnon  save  the  absence  of  that  circumstance  ;  the 
circumstance  in  which  alone  the  two  sets  of  instances  (alwa3's 
or  invariably)  dift'er,  is  the  effect,  or  the  cause,  or  an  indispen- 
sable part  of  the  cause,  of  the  phenomenon. 

"4.  Method  of  Ttesidues. — Subduct  from  any  phenomenon 
such  part  as  is  known  by  previous  inductions  to  be  the  effect 

.    1  Educational  Revieiv,  June,  1897.  "^  Lessons  in  Logic,  240. 


116  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

of  certain  antecedents,  and  the  residue  of  the  phenomenon  is 
the  effect  of  the  remaining  antecedents. 

"  5.  3fethocl  of  Concomitant  Variations. — Whatever  phenom- 
enon varies  in  any  manner  whenever  another  phenomenon 
varies  in  some  particular  manner,  is  either  a  cause  or  an  effect 
of  that  phenomenon,  or  is  connected  with  it  through  some 
fact  of  causation." 

In  the  White  murder  case,  Webster,  after  reciting 
the  essential  facts,  announced  as  his  hypothesis,  or 
theory,  that  ''  Captain  White  was  murdered  in  pursu- 
ance of  a  conspiracy,  and  the  defendant  was 
webs^r's  connected  with  that  conspiracy,"  an  hypothe- 
sis which  accounts  for  all  the  facts  brought 
out  in  the  evidence,  and  harmonizes  them. 

If  the  details  from  which  an  induction  is  made  are 

less  than  all  possible  cases,  and  if  no  causal  relation 

appears  between  known  facts  and  what  is  inferred,  then 

the    particulars   are  not   proofs    but    merely 

Details  Only   indications  of  a  conclusion  more  or  less  prob- 
Indications.  ^ 

able.  The  probability  will  depend  on  the 
number  of  instances,  and  regularity  of  sequence.  The 
more  numerous  the  instances  and  the  more  invariable  the 
sequence  or  accompaniment,  the  more  nearly  the  indi- 
cations approach  to  proof ;  but  the  conclusion  can  never 
be  absolutely  certain.  "Thus,  it  has  been  asserted  that 
animals  which  ruminate  have  cloven  hoofs  ;  but  science 
has  not  discovered  a  connection  between  rumination 
and  cloven  hoofs.  If  a  new  ruminant  should  be  found, 
one  might  infer  that  it  would  have  cloven  hoofs ;  but 
in  the  absence  of  knowledge  of  a  causal  connection,  and 
in  face  of  the  fact  tliat  some  animals  with  cloven  hoofs 
(pigs  and  tapirs,  for  example),  are  not  ruminants,  such 
an  inference  would  have  little  force."  ^ 

1  A.  S.  Hill,  Principles  of  Rhetoric,  350.     See  also  Empiric  Fact,  113. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  117 

Fresh  discoveries  sometimes  reveal  exceptions  to  long 
accepted  conclusions.     The  circulation  of  the  blood  was 
long  supposed  to  be   in  one   invariable  direction.     In 
1824  "Von  Hasselt  happening  to  examine  a  ^^^^^^^^^ 
transparent  animal  of  the  class  of  Ascidians,  wewDis- 
found  to  his  infinite  surprise  that  after  the 
heart  had  beat  a  certain  number  of  times,  it  stopped  and 
then  began  beating  the  opposite  way,  so  as  to  reverse 
the  course  of  the  current,  which  returned  by  and  by  to 
its  original  direction."  ^     It  was  believed  that  no  bird 
ever  had  teeth,  till  Professor  Marsh  in  1872  discovered 
in  Kansas,  fossil  birds  with  teeth  clearly  defined. 

"  Some  writers  have  asserted  that  there  is  a  Principle 
called  the  Uniformity  of  Nature,  which  enables  us  to 
affirm  that  what  has  often  been  found  to  be  true  of  any- 
thing will  continue  to  be  found  true  of  the 
same  sort  of  thing.  It  must  be  observed,  JJ^Nature!"^ 
however,  that  if  there  be  such  a  principle  it 
is  liable  to  exceptions ;  for  many  facts  w^hich  have  held 
true  up  to  a  certain  point  have  afterwards  been  found 
not  to  be  always  true.  Thus  there  was  a  wide  and 
unbroken  induction  tending  to  show  that  all  the  satel- 
lites in  the  planetary  system  went  in  one  uniform  direc- 
tion round  their  planets.  Nevertheless  the  satellites  of 
Uranus  when  discovered  were  found  to  move  in  a  retro- 
grade direction,  or  in  an  opposite  direction  to  all  satel- 
lites previously  known,  and  the  same  peculiarity  attaches 
to  the  satellite  of  Neptune  more  lately  discovered."  ^ 

A  common  fallacy  of  inductive  reasoning,  is  the  in- 
ference of  a  general  conclusion  from  too  few  instances. 

1  Huxley,  Science  and  Education  Essays,  55. 

2  Jevous,  Lesso7is  in  Logic,  217. 


118  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

A  bank  fails ;  some  of  its  depositors  conclude  that  all 

^  „    ,  banks    are    untrustworthy,    and    all   bankers 

FaUacies.  "^ ' 

Too  Few  are  swindlers.  The  Americans  who  go  abroad 
s  ances.  ^^^^  usually  well-to-do  and  spend  money  gen- 
erously. Many  Europeans,  ignoring  the  few  shabby 
or  penurious  travelers,  infer  that  all  Americans  are 
wealthy.  On  the  other  hand,  travelers  are  tempted  to 
make  broad  generalizations  as  to  the  character  and 
manners  of  the  people  in  countries  visited,  from  a  hasty 
observation  of  a  single  class  or  a  few  classes,  leaving 
out  of  account  what  has  not  been  observed,  and  what  is 
opposed  to  their  conclusions.  Partisans  and  sectarians 
under  the  influence  of  a  dominant  idea,  are  likely  to  see 
only  those  special  cases  which  will  allow  an  inference 
in  favor  of  one  view,  and  which  might  easily  be  met  by 
as  many  instances  supporting  an  opposite  view.  The 
New  Testament  records  the  baptism  of  several  entire 
families.  It  is  inferred  that  infants  must  have  been 
baptized,  because  many  families  have  infants,  —  the  reas- 
oner  ignoring  the  fact  that  some  families  have  none. 

Practical  men  point  to  a  few  college-bred  men  who 
have  failed  in  the  active  pursuits  of  life,  and  assert  that 
college  training  unfits  men  for  practical  affairs. 

Perhaps  the  most  frequent  fallacy  of  induction  is 
the  assumption  of  a  causal  relation  where  none  exists. 
Beans  are  rubbed  upon  warts  and  then  buried.  The 
warts  disappear  and  their  disappearance  is 
^roCausa.  ^^^^  ^^  ^^  causcd  by  the  beans.  A  person 
feeling  ill  takes  a  patent  medicine  and  re- 
covers. He  believes  the  medicine  effected  the  cure, 
when  in  reality  it  may  have  been  neutral,  or  even  have 
retarded  recovery.     A  touch  from  a  sovereign  was  once 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  119 

supposed  to  cure  King's  Evil.  Eclipses  and  comets 
were  long  supposed  to  cause  disasters.  The  changes 
of  the  moon  are  still  supposed  by  many  to  cause  varia- 
tion in  weather,  in  crops,  in  the  fattening  of  animals,  in 
the  strength  of  timber,  and  in  the  success  of  different 
undertakings.  In  these  cases  the  inference  is  from  par- 
ticulars to  particulars,  when  there  is  no  relation  but  the 
accidental  one  of  sequence  or  simultaneity.  Conclusions 
of  this  kind  differ  little  from  superstitions.  In  medicine 
and  medical  practice  there  are  so  many  elements  to  be 
taken  into  account,  that  it  is  easy  to  fall  into  the  fal- 
lacy of  non  causa  pro  causa,  "  Medicine  is  merely  em- 
pirical as  long  as  it  rests  upon  such  generalizations  as 
that  quinine  cures  ague  without  our  knowing  why." 
In  political  and  sociological  affairs  reasoners  are  spec- 
ially liable  to  give  undue  weight  to  an  apparent  cause, 
when  in  fact  the  effect  to  be  explained  is  due  to  a  com- 
bination of  causes. 

"  We  can  mention  but  a  few  of  the  fallacies  which  have  had 
much  popular! t}'  with  this  generation,  and  which  have  now  been 
punctured.  It  has  been  so  vehemently  asserted  as  to  be  com- 
monly believed  that  the  rise  of  wages  during  the 

last   fifty  years  has  been   due   to   trades   unions.   Effect  of 

Trades 
Trades  unions  have  insisted  that  wages  should  be   unions. 

raised,  and  wages  have  risen  ;  that  has  established 
the  relation  of  cause  and  effect  for  many  people  in  England, 
just  as  the  tariff  is  held  to  be  the  efficient  force  in  this  country. 
These  unions  have  not  invented  machines  nor  opened  markets 
nor  extended  credit.  They  have  probably,  on  the  whole,  dimin- 
ished production  and  discouraged  enterprise  ;  and  if  they  follow 
the  leaders  that  are  now  most  prominent,  they  will  seriously  in- 
terfere with  commercial  prosperity.  So  of  the  '  living  wage ' 
theory.  To  suppose  that  any  class  of  laborers  can  obtain 
higher  wages  by  refusing  to  work  for  lower  wages  is  a  gross 


120  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

and  mischievous  fallacy  ;  this  assertion  is  supported  by  suffi- 
cient proofs.  Combination  is  futile  to  effect  it  except  when 
competition  would  effect  it.  And,  after  all  the  abuse  that  has 
been  heaped  upon  competition,  it  is  the  great  preserver  of  free- 
dom and  promoter  of  equality."  ' 

"  After  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  Massachusetts  is  now 
giving  more  education  of  all  sorts,  to  all  its  people,  than 
any  other  American  State.  As  a  result,  the  average  produc- 
tion of  each  of  her  two  million,  five  hundred  thous- 
Effectof  and  people  is  seventy-three  cents  per  day,  while 
Educa^on.  *^^®  average  in  the  United  States,  as  a  whole,  is 
but  forty  cents  a  day.  And  this  in  a  State  that, 
two  hundred  years  ago,  presented  fewer  attractions  to  the 
seeker  after  wealth  than  almost  any  section  of  America  out- 
side of  New  England.  Without  a  navigable  river,  or  a  mineral 
plant  of  any  considerable  importance  ;  half  her  territory  a  hill- 
side which  a  western  farmer  '  would  not  take  as  a  gift '  ;  two 
or  three  harbors  on  a  stormy  coast,  and  a  climate  so  tremen- 
dous that,  for  generations,  it  almost  decimated  its  people,  this 
Commonwealth  of  eight  thousand  square  miles  is  perhaps,  rela- 
tively, the  richest  corner  of  the  earth.  To-day,  the  excess  of 
the  earnings  of  its  population  above  the  American  average  is 
$250,000,000  a  year  ;  just  the  sum  laid  up  in  its  savings  banks 
by  its  laboring  population  who  invest  in  sums  less  than  five 
hundred  dollars.  And  to-day  one  third  of  this  population  is 
composed  of  immigrants,  chiefly  from  the  peasant  class  of 
countries  where  the  condition  of  the  peasantry  has  been  the 
by-word  of  history.  There  is  no  other  rational  way  of  account- 
ing for  this  marvelous  industrial  success  than  the  persistence 
of  the  people  in  this  State  in  supporting  every  agency  of  popu- 
lar education  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Here  is  no 
secret  of  ready  money-making ;  and  the  Bay  State  to-day 
stands  on  this  eminence  of  success,  saying  to  all  common- 
wealths and  all  peoples  :   '  Go  and  do  likewise.'  "  ^ 

What  is  attributed  in  the  first  example  to  combination 
as  a  cause,  and  in  the  second  example,  to  superior  facii- 

1  The  Nation.  2  Education,  April,  1896. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  121 

ities  for  po2:)ular  education,  is  by  others  attributed  to 
quite  different  causes,  —  protection  to  home  industry, 
improved  machinery,  division  of  labor,  decrease  of  in- 
temperance, New  England  thrift,  and  so  on  almost  ad 
infinitum. 

In  the  fallacy,  post  hoc  ergo  propter  lioc^  it  is  argued 
that  one  phenomenon  following  another  is  the  effect  of 
that  other.  This  is  a  species  of  the  fallacy,  non  causa, 
and  is  illustrated  by  some  of  the  examples 

^  -^  ^  Post  Hoc. 

already  given.  Instances  are  numerous. 
"  Thus  it  is  a  familiar  fact  in  politics  that  hard  times, 
whatever  may  have  been  their  causes,  discredit  the 
party  in  power,  the  '  outs '  arguing  that  since  the 
present  administration  came  into  office  money  has  been 
scarce,  and  wholly  omitting  to  refer  to  speculation, 
drought,  or  any  other  cause  of  financial  depression."  ^ 
It  is  argued  that  when  there  is  a  great  amount  of  cur- 
rency in  a  country  —  greenbacks  or  silver  —  there  is  a 
great  amount  of  wealth,  and  that  in  some  way  the  cur- 
rency is  the  cause  of  the  wealth ;  whereas  it  is  nearer 
the  truth  to  say,  the  currency  does  not  make  the  wealth, 
but  is  demanded  by  the  wealth  as  a  convenient  medium 
of  exchange.  On  the  confusion  of  cause  and  effect,  or 
failure  to  note  the  mutuality  of  cause  and  effect.  Pro- 
fessor Fowler  2  quotes  the  following  from  Sir  George 
Cornwall  Lewis :  — 

"  An  additional  source  of  error  in  determining  political  cau- 
sation is  likewise  to  be  found  in  the  Diutualily  of  caiiae  (aid  effect. 
It  happens  sometimes  that  when  a  relation  of  causation  is  es- 
tablished between  two  facts  it  is  hard  to  decide  which,  in  the 
given  case,  is  the  cause  and  which  the  effect,  because  they  act 

1  Ballantine,  Inductive  Loylc,  IGu.  2  jijia,  322. 


122  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

and  react  upon  each  other,  each  phenomenon  being  in  turn  cause 
and  effect.  Thus,  habits  of  industry  may  produce  wealtli  ; 
while  the  acquisition  of  wealth  may  promote  industry  ;  again, 

habits  of  study  may  sharpen  the  understanding, 
MutuaUty  and  the  increased  acuteness  of  the  understand- 
Effect.  ^^o  ^^^^y  afterward  increase  the  appetite  for  study. 

So  the  excess  of  population  may,  by  impoverish- 
ing the  laboring  classes,  be  the  cause  of  their  living  in  bad 
dwellings  ;  and,  again,  bad  dwellings,  by  deteriorating  the 
moral  habits  of  the  poor,  may  stimulate  population.  The 
general  intelligence  and  good  sense  of  the  i3eople  may  pro- 
mote its  good  government,  and  the  goodness  of  the  govern- 
ment may  in  its  turn  increase  the  intelligence  of  the  people, 
and  contribute  to  the  formation  of  sound  opinions  among 
them.  Drunkenness  is  in  general  the  consequence  of  a  low 
degree  of  intelligence,  as  may  be  observed  both  among  savages 
and  in  civilized  countries.  But,  in  return,  a  habit  of  drunken- 
ness prevents  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect,  and  strengthens 
the  cause  out  of  which  it  grows.  As  Plato  remarks,  educa- 
tion improves  nature,  and  nature  facilitates  education.  Na- 
tional character,  again,  is  both  effect  and  cause  ;  it  reacts  on 
the  circumstances  from  which  it  arises.  The  national  pecu- 
liarities of  a  peoi^le,  its  race,  physical  structures,  climate,  ter- 
ritories, etc.,  form  originall}'  a  certain  character,  which  tends 
to  create  certain  institutions,  political  and  domestic,  in  harmony 
with  that  character.  These  institutions  strengthen,  perpetuate, 
and  reproduce  the  character  out  of  which  the}'  grew,  and  so  on 
in  succession,  each  new  effect,  becoming,  in  its  turn,  a  new 
cause.  Thus  a  brave,  energetic,  restless  nation,  exposed  to 
attack  from  neighbors,  organizes  military  institutions :  these 
institutions  jDromote  and  maintain  a  warlike  spirit ;  this  war- 
like spirit,  again,  assists  the  development  of  the  militar}'  or- 
ganization, and  it  is  further  promoted  b}^  territorial  conquests 
and  success  in  war,  which  may  be  its  result  —  each  successive 
effect  thus  adding  to  the  cause  out  of  which  it  sprang." 

Fallacies  of  inductive  argument  may  be  avoided  b}- 
careful  analysis.     Data  from  wliicli  inferences  are  made 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  123 

must   be  proved  facts.      Instances  enough  should  be 
used  to  raise  a  reasonable  probability.     The 
conclusion  inferred  should  be  amply  verified  ^,^Jct?on.^ 
by  additional    cases.     If   causal   relation   is 
claimed,  it  should  be  shown,  and  the  cause  should  be 
shown   to  be    adequate,   and   neither   intercepted   nor 
superseded.      From    empiric    facts,  empiric    induction, 
and  imperfect  induction,  no  more  than  probability  or 
practical    certainty  should    be    claimed.      The    careful 
reasoner  will  not  assume  causation,  but  look  for  nu- 
merous coincidences.     One  instance  does  not  prove  a 
law,  nor  do  a  dozen ;  but  one  discordant  instance  may 
disprove  it. 

Induction  and  deduction  go  hand  in  hand.     Deduc- 
tion tests  the  conclusions  from  premises  arrived  at  by 
induction.     In  some  branches  of  knowledge  induction 
the   one  predominates,  in    some,  the    other,  ^^^compi'e- 
In  the  natural  and  physical  sciences  there  is  mentary. 
a  more  frequent  use  of  inductive  processes. 

"  Mathematical  training  is  almost  purely  deductive.  The 
mathematician  starts  with  a  few  simple  propositions,  the  proof 
of  which  is  so  obvious  that  they  are  called  self-evident,  and  the 
rest  of  his  work  consists  of  subtle  deductions  from  them.  The 
teaching  of  languages  is  of  the  same  general  nature  :  authority 
and  tradition  furnish  the  data,  and  the  mental  operations  of 
the  scholar  are  deductive.  If  history  be  the  subject  of  study, 
the  facts  are  still  taken  upon  the  evidence  of  tradition  and 
authority." 

"  In  every-day  life  most  of  the  business  which  demands  our 
attention  is  matter  of  fact,  which  needs,  in  the  first  place,  to 
be  accurately  observed  or  apprehended  ;  in  the  second,  to  be 
interpreted  by  inductive  and  deductive  reasonings  which  are 
altogether  similar  in  their  nature  to  those  employed  in  science. 
Whatever  is  taken  for  granted,  is  so  taken  at  one's  peril ;  fact 


124  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

and  reason  are  the  ultimate  arbiters,  and  patience  and  honesty 
are  the  great  helpers  out  of  difficulty."  ' 

"  Every  time  a  savage  tracks  his  game,  he  employs  a 
minuteness  of  observation  and  an  accuracy  of  inductive  and 
deductive  reasoning,  which,  if  applied  to  other  matters  would 
assure  some  reputation  to  a  man  of  science.  In  complexity 
and  difficulty  the  intellectual  labor  of  a  'good  hunter  and 
warrior'  considerably  exceeds  that  of  an  ordinary  English- 
man." 2 

4.    BASIS  OF  SOURCE. 

On  the  basis  of  the  source  from  which  they  are  de- 
rived, arguments  may  be  classed  as  Arguments  from 
Antecedent  Probability,  Arguments  from  Example,  and 
Antecedent  Arguments  from  Sign.^  The  first  kind  have 
Probabiuty.    ^\^q[j.   source   in    the    relation    which    cause 

Example. 

Sign.  bears    to    effect   or   motive    to    deed.      The 

second  have  their  source  in  the  resemblance  which 
persons,  things,  events  and  circumstances,  have  to 
other  persons,  things,  events  and  circumstances,  in 
certain  respects  and  under  certain  conditions.  The 
third  have  their  source  in  the  association  of  ideas,  — 
effects  and  causes,  conditions,  accompaniments.  The 
first,  also  called  arguments  a  priori^  correspond  in  gen- 
eral to  deductive  argument ;  the  second,  which  are  for 
the  most  part  arguments  a  posteriori^  correspond  in 
general  to  inductive.  This  classification  is  thought 
to  afford  greater  convenience  and  facility  in  the  dis- 
covery or  invention  of  arguments,  than  the  classifica- 
tions previously  discussed ;  while  the  classification  into 
deductive  and  inductive  arguments  is  better  adapted 
to  indicate   how  the   reasoner   may  test   the  validity 

1  Huxley,  Science  and  Education  Essays,  12G. 

2  Huxley,  Darioiniana,  176.    3  gee  Direct  Argument,  78. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGU^IENTS.  125 

of  his  own  reasoning  and  argumentation,  and  recog- 
nize the  force  or  detect  the  fallacy  of  the  reasoning  of 
an  opponent. 

"  Antiphon's  strong  point  in  argument  was  the  topic 
of  General  (antecedent)  Probability.     '  Is  it  likely  that 
such  and  such  a  thing  would  have  occurred  ?  '     <•  Would 
this  little  man  have  been  likely  to   attack 
this  big  one ;   or,  if  he  did,  would  he   not  Q^ators 
have  known  beforehand  that  the  presump- 
tion would  be   against  him?'     This  topic  of  general 
probability  was  the  favorite  weapon  of  the  Greek  rhet- 
oricians.    Aristotle  himself  gave  it  an  important  place 
in  his  great  treatise  in  which  he  formulated  the  prin- 
ciples that   had   prevailed  in  the    usage  of  the  early 
orators."  ^ 

In  the  courts,  in  deliberative  bodies,  in  demonstrative 

reasoning,  and  in  practical  affairs,  the  argument  from 

antecedent  probability  is  very  common.     It  attempts  to 

ffive  the  cause  of  a  fact,  and  the  motive  of  a    . 

°  '  ^  Antecedent 

deed  or  course  of  action.  Since  cause  pre-  Probability 
cedes  effect  and  motive  precedes  conduct,  the  *  "^^  ' 
argument  from  antecedent  probability  goes  from  a  past 
to  a  less  remote  past  of  present,  and  from  past  or  present 
to  future.  Assuming  a  fact,  it  explains  it ;  assuming 
a  deed,  it  accounts  for  it ;  assuming  a  truth,  it  shows 
why  it  might  be  true.  Assuming  the  expediency  of 
a  measure,  it  attempts  to  show  from  antecedent  cir- 
cumstances why  it  would  be  expedient.  It  deals  with 
causes,  motives,  forces,  influences. 

There  is  an  antecedent  probability  that  the  scholar- 
ship, judgment,  knowledge  of  men,  and  administrative 

1  Sears,  History  of  Oratory,  40. 


126  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

ability,  which  have  made  a  man  successful  at  the  head 
of  one  educational  institution,  will  enable  him  to  suc- 
ceed as  president  of  a  similar  institution.  We  argue 
in  the  same  way  that  the  soil,  tillage,  cli- 
*  mate,  and  seed,  that  have  given  an  abundant 
crop  of  grain  or  fruit  or  vegetables,  will  continue  to 
give  it.  It  is  known  that  to  satisfy  their  own  hunger 
or  to  save  their  starving  families,  men  will  steal ;  that 
to  gratify  a  greed  for  gold,  to  satisfy  a  vaulting  ambi- 
tion, to  seek  revenge,  to  remove  the  cause  of  jealousy, 
—  men  Avill  lie  or  forge  or  rob  or  kill.  Jean  Val- 
jean's  sister's  children  were  starving.  He  passed  by  a 
baker's  shop.  Some  loaves  disappeared.  It  was  ar- 
gued from  antecedent  probability  that  he  took  the 
bread.  The  Knapp's  wanted  Captain  White's  fortune, 
which  they  understood  was  to  go  to  others.  He  was 
found  murdered.  Webster  argued  from  antecedent 
probability  that  the  Knapps  were  the  murderers. 
When  Mrs.  Craven  presented  deeds  conveying  to 
herself  part  of  the  Fair  estate,  and  a  will  bequeathing 
to  her  large  sums  of  money,  she  being  a  stranger  to  the 
family,  there  was  an  antecedent  probability  of  forgery. 
The  probability  is  called  antecedent^  since  "  the  cause 
or  motive  was  in  operation  before  the  occurrence  of 
that  which  had  to  be  accounted  for."  Temperance 
agitators  argue  that  the  drinking  habit  once  formed 
will  continue.  It  is  argued  that  the  pulpit,  the  press 
and  the  platform,  strengthen  the  security  of  free  institu- 
tions. From  political  and  social  influences  sure  to 
operate  in  certain  circumstances,  men  of  sagacity  and 
foresight  have  predicted  great  political  and  social  up- 
heavals, —  the  French  Revolution,  the  American  Revo- 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  127 

lution,  the  Civil  War  in  America.  From  the  forces 
at  work  in  France,  and  the  absence  of  those  forces  in 
England,  Burke  argued  what  ivould  be  the  result  of 
war  between  France  and  Great  Britain :  — 

"  When  I  look  to  the  other  side  of  the  water,  I  cannot  help 
recollecting  what  Pyrrhus  said,  on  reconnoitring  the  Roman 
camp  :  '  These  barbarians  have  nothing  barbarous  in  their 
discipline.'  When  I  look,  as  I  have  pretty  carefully  looked, 
into  the  proceedings  of  the  French  King,  I  am  sorry  to  say  it, 
I  see  nothing  of  the  character  and  genius  of  arbitrary  finance, 
none  of  the  bold  frauds  of  bankrupt  power,  none  of  the  wild 
struggles  and  plunges  of  despotism  in  distress,  —  no  lopping 
oif  from  the  capital  of  debt,  no  suspension  of  interest,  no  rob- 
bery under  the  name  of  loan,  no  raising  the  value,  no  debasing 
the  substance,  of  the  coin.  I  see  neither  Louis  the  Four- 
teenth nor  Louis  the  Fifteenth.  On  the  contrary,  I  behold, 
with  astonishment,  rising  before  me,  by  the  very  hands  of 
arbitrary  power,  and  in  the  very  midst  of  war  and  confusion,  a 
regular,  methodical  system  of  public  credit ;  I  behold  a  fabric 
laid  on  the  natural  and  solid  foundations  of  trust  and  confi- 
dence among  men,  and  rising,  by  fair  gradations,  order  over 
order,  according  to  the  just  rules  of  symmetry  and  art.  What 
a  reverse  of  things  !  Principle,  method,  regularity,  economy, 
frugality,  justice  to  individuals,  and  care  of  the  people,  are  the 
resources  with  which  France  makes  war  upon  Great  Britain. 
God  avert  the  omen  !  But  if  we  should  see  any  genius  in  war 
and  politics  arise  in  France  to  second  what  is  done  in  the 
bureau!  —  I  turn  my  eyes  from  the  consequences." 

The  argument  from  antecedent  probability  predomi- 
nates throughout  Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation.  He 
aims  continually  to  show  why  it  would  he  to  England's 
interest  to  conciliate  the  Colonies. 

Antecedent  forces  and  influences  may  be  brought 
forward  to  account  for  what  has  already  happened. 
In   an   address   before    the   National    Democratic   Con- 


128  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUTVIENTATION. 

vention  at  Chicago  in  1896,  a  delegate  thus  accounted 
for  "hard  times  "  under  Democratic  administration,  and 
attributed  to  Democratic  administration  :  — 

"  The  people,  applying  the  power  of  memory  and  analysis 

alike  to  discover  the  causes  of  their  arrested  prosperity,  need 

not  go  far  to  find  them.     They  do  not  forget  that  when  the 

Democracy  came  into  power  in  1893  it  inherited 

From  Past       f  j-om  its  Republican  predecessor  a  tax  system  and 

to  Present.  ^-  j 

currency,  a  system  of  which   the  McKinley  and 

Sherman  laws  were  the  culminating  atrocities.  It  came  into 
power  amidst  a  panic  which  followed  upon  their  enactment 
with  strikes,  lockouts,  riots,  civic  commotions,  while  scenes 
of  peaceful  industry  in  Pennsylvania  had  become  military 
camps.  Besides  its  manifold  features,  the  McKinley  law  had 
thrown  away  fifty  millions  of  revenue  derived  from  sugar 
under  a  special  plea  of  a  free  breakfast  table,  and  substi- 
tuted bounties  to  sugar  planters,  thus  decreasing  the  revenue 
and  increasing  expenditure,  thus  burning  the  candle  at  both 
ends  and  making  the  people  pay  at  last  for  their  alleged  free 
breakfast. 

"From  the  joint  operation  of  the  McKinley  law  and  the 
Sherman  law,  an  adverse  balance  of  trade  was  forced  against 
us  in '1893,  a  surplus  of  $100,000,000  in  the  treasury  was  con- 
verted into  a  deficit  of  $70,000,000  in  1894  ;  and  engraved 
bonds  prepared  by  a  Republican  secretary  to  borrow  money  to 
support  the  Government  were  ill  omens  of  preorganized  ruin 
that  awaited  the  coming  Democracy  and  depleted  treasury. 

"More  significant  still,  the  very  authors  of  the  ill-starred 
Sherman  law  makeshift  were  always  at  the  confessional,  upon 
the  stool  of  penitence,  and  were  begging  the  Democrats  to 
help  them  put  out  the  conflagration  of  disaster  that  they  had 
themselves  kindled." 

In  all  valid  arguments  there  is  a  basis  in  experience. 
A  cause  in  one  instance  produces  a  certain  effect.  Men 
gradually  learn  by  experience  and  observation  to  look 
for  this  effect  when  this  cause  is  present.     From  what 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUIVIENTS.  129 

has  happened  or  is  happening,  men  learn  to  conclude 
what  will  happen.     We  know  one  fact  or  set 
of  facts ;  we  infer  another  resulting  fact  or  ExperSnce 
set  of  facts.     The  probability  of  his  success 
in  a  new  position  exists  before  the  college  president  is 
called  to  his  new  charge.     There  is  a  probability  of  a 
good  crop,  before  the  farmer  sows  his  seed.     The  prob- 
ability of  resistance  to  tyranny  existed  before  the  Eng- 
lish oppressed  the  Colonies ;  the  probability  was  raised 
in  that  particular  case  as  soon  as  oppression  began.     In 
each  particular  case,  the  argument  rests  in  a  general 
belief  that  uniform  causes  will  produce  uniform  effects. 
Scientific  investigators   make  use   of   the  argument 
from  antecedent  probabilit3^     Unexplained  phenomena 
are  to  be  accounted  for.     Assuming  these  phenomena 
to  be  what  they  seem,   workers  in   science 
fiame  hypotheses  to  account  for  them.    These  gcfent^ts 
hypotheses  are  "  theories,  assumptions  or  sup- 
positions, employed  in  scientific  inquiry  and  falling  short 
of  ascertained  truths."     "  Explanation,  in  the  scientific 
sense,  means  the   reduction  of  a  series  of  facts  which 
occur  uniformly  but  are  not  connected  by  any  known  law 
of  causation,  into  a  series  which  is  so  connected,  or  the 
reduction  of  complex  laws  of  causation,  into  simpler 
laws."  1     Professor  Fowler  ^  assigns  to  the    legitimate 
hypothesis  the  following  qualities :  (1)  It  must  not  be 
known  or  suspected  to  be  untrue,  i.  e.,  it  must  not  be 
inconsistent  with  facts  already  ascertained  or  the  infer- 
ences to  which  they  lead;^  (2)  it  must  be  capable  of 

1  Fowler,  Inductive  Logic,  97. 
-  Ibid,  99,  et  seq. 

3  That  it  do  not  conflict  with  any  laws  of  nature,  or  of  mind,  which 
we  hold  true.  —  Jevons. 


loO  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUIVIENTATION. 

verification  or  of  disproof,  or  at  least  of  being  rendered 
more  or  less  probable  by  subsequent  investigation ;  (3) 
it  must  be  applicable  to  the  description  or  explanation 
of  all  the  observed  phenomena,  and  if  it  assigns  a  cause, 
must  assign  a  cause  fully  adequate  to  have  produced 
them  ;  (4)  to  be  accepted  as  a  complete  induction  or  to  be 
regarded  as  possessing  a  great  amount  of  probability,  it 
must  be  shown  that  nothing  else  but  the  assigned  cause 
can  account  for  the  phenomena  in  question." 

"  It  was  by  availing  himself  of  the  latter  mode  of  proof, 
hypothesis  and  verification,  that  Newton  demonstrated  the 
existence  in  the  sun,  of  a  central  force  attracting  the  planets 

toward  it.  Assuming  Kepler's  hypothesis  (then 
J;*^  ?J  . .        sufficiently  verified  by  observation  to  be  universally 

accepted  as  a  true  statement  of  the  facts),  that 
equal  areas  are  described  by  the  radii  vectores  of  planets  in 
equal  times,  Newton  showed  that  this  fact  could  be  due  to  only 
one  cause,  namely,  the  deflection  of  the  planets  from  their  rec- 
tilinear course  by  a  force  acting  in  the  direction  of  the  sun's 
center.  The  existence  of  the  central  force  was,  at  first,  started 
by  him  as  an  hj-pothesis.  He  then  proved  that,  on  the  suppo- 
sition of  the  existence  of  the  central  force,  'the  planet  will 
describe,  as  we  know  by  Kepler's  first  law  that  it  does  describe, 
equal  areas  in  equal  times  ;  and  lastly  he  proved  that  if  the 
force  acted  in  any  other  direction  whatever,  the  planet  would 
not  describe  equal  areas  in  equal  times.  It  being  thus  shown 
that  no  other  hypothesis  would  accord  with  the  facts,  the  as- 
sumption was  proved  ;  the  hypothesis  became  an  inductive 
truth.  Not  only  did  Newton  ascertain  by  this  hypothetical 
process  the  direction  of  this  deflecting  force  ;  he  proceeded  in 
exactly  the  same  manner  to  ascertain  the  law  of  variation  of 
the  quantity  of  that  force.  He  assumed  that  the  force  varied 
inversely  as  the  square  of  the  distance  ;  showed  that  from  this 
assumption  the  remaining  two  of  Kepler's  laws  might  be  de- 
duced ;  and  finally  that  any  other  law  of  variation  would  give 
results  inconsistent  with  those  laws,  and  inconsistent  therefore 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUISIENTS.  131 

with  the  real  motions  of  the  planets,  of  which  Kepler's  laws 
were  known  to  be  a  correct  expression.'  '  " 

"It  will  be  noticed  that  the  course  of  demonstration  pur- 
sued in  this  instance  is  the  following  :  (1)  AVe  have  certain 
observed  facts  ;  (2)  these  observed  facts  are  generalized  in 
what  are  called  Kepler's  laws  ;  (3)  we  have  the 
assumption  of  the  central  force  ;  (4)  it  is  shown  pj.Qgggg  * 
that  the  central  force  will  account  for  Kepler's 
laws,  and  therefore,  of  course,  for  the  jjarticular  facts  of  obser- 
vation on  which  they  were  founded  ;  (5)  it  is  shown  that  this 
assumption  is  the  only  one  which  will  account  for  those  laws, 
or  the  particular  facts  expressed  by  them  ;  (6)  it  is  inferred  by 
the  Method  of  Difference,  that  the  assumption  of  the  central 
force,  as  it  will  account  for,  and  is  the  only  supposition  that 
will  account  for,  the  observed  facts,  must  be  accepted  as  true  ; 
(7)  Kepler's  laws  are  now  proved  deductively  from  what  we 
have  ascertained  to  be  the  valid  induction  of  a  central  force."  ^ 

Priestly  and  Scheele  argued  from  antecedent  proba- 
bility when  they  established  the  truth  of  the  proposition 
that  combustion  is  simply  union  with  oxygen.  Other 
chemists  argued  in  the  same  way  to  support 
the  generalization  that  "in  all  chemical  coveriesf" 
changes  there  is  no  such  thing  as  increase  or 
diminution  but  only  substitution,"  the  fundamental 
truth  of  the  indestructibility  of  matter,  upon  which  all 
modern  chemistry  rests.  The  discovery  of  the  planet 
Neptune  in  1845,  by  purely  a  priori  reasoning  from  the 
observed  effects  of  its  gravitation,  furnished  for  the 
New^tonian  theory,  the  grandest  confirmation  known  in 
the  history  of  science.  Lyell  argued  in  this  way  when 
he  accounted  for  the  vast  changes  in  the  relations  of 
land  and  water  upon  the  globe,  hi  the  relations  of  moun- 
tain and  plain,  of  soils,  climates,  vegetable  productions 

1  Mill,  Logic,  351.  2  Fowler,  Inductive  Logic,  112. 


132  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

and  animal  populations.  He  assumed  that  the  same 
physical  forces  which  are  in  operation  now,  have  been  in 
operation  during  endless  ages.  Then  the  idea  of  evolu- 
tion was  irresistibly  forced  upon  men's  attention.  Other 
changes  besides  geological  could  be  most  satisfactorily 
accounted  for  "by  reference  to  the  ceaseless,  all  pervad- 
ing activity  of  gentle,  unobtrusive  causes,  such  as  we 
know."  1 

Arguing  from  antecedent  probability,  Darwin  accounted  by 
the  theoiy  of  evolution  for  many  observed  facts  of  nature.  "  It 
appeared  to  me,"  he  says,  "  that  by  following  the  example 
of  Lyell  in  geology,  and  by  collecting  all  facts 
Evolution  ^iiich  bore  in  any  way  on  the  variation  of  animals 
and  plants  under  domestication  and  nature,  some 
light  might  perhaps  be  thrown  on  the  whole  subject  (of  the 
origin  of  species).""  To  account  for  these  facts  he  formed 
the  hypothesis  :  "  Species  have  originated  by  means  of  natural 
selection,  or  through  the  preservation  of  the  favored  races  in 
the  struggle  for  life."  What  Darwin  attempted  to  do,  is  in 
exact  accordance  with  the  rule  laid  down  by  Mill.  He  en- 
deavored to  determine  certain  facts  inductively  by  observation 
and  experiment.  He  then  reasoned  from  the  data  thus 
furnished.  At  last  he  tested  the  validity  of  his  ratiocination 
by  comparing  his  deductions  with  observed  facts  of  nature. 
Darwin  endeavored  to  prove  inductively  that  species  arise  in  a 
given  way.  He  desired  to  show  deductively  that  if  they  rise 
in  that  way,  the  facts  of  distribution,  development,  classification, 
and  so  forth,  may  be  accounted  for,  —  that  is,  may  be  deduced 
from  their  mode  of  origin,  combined  with  admitted  changes  in 
physical  geography  and  climate,  during  an  indefinite  period. 
And  this  explanation,  or  coincidence  of  observed  facts  with  de- 
duced facts,  is,  so  far  as  it  extends,  a  verification  of  the  Dar- 
winian view. 

The  plot  and  the  characters  of  a  drama  or  a  work  of 

1  Huxley,  Darwiniana,  73. 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  133 

fiction,  involve  a  proper  regard  for  antecedent  probabil- 
ity. The  playwright  or  the  story-teller  may  introduce 
any  character,  in  any  circumstances,  and  Antecedent 
under  any  kind  of  influences  ;  but  subsequent  ^^o^ks^^f 
utterances,  behavior  and  development,  must  imagfinaUon. 
be  such  as  might  be  expected  from  this  character  in  the 
circumstances.  Events  and  incidents  of  any  kind  may 
be  invented,  if  they  are  in  keeping  with  the  forces  and 
influences  in  operation;  but  they  must  accord  with 
these  forces  and  influences.  Our  notions  of  things  and 
their  relations  "  are  confirmed  by  the  whole  of  our  own 
experience,  which  may  be  of  enormous  extent  and  var- 
iety, by  the  experience  of  our  ancestors,  and  by  all  that 
we  can  ascertain  of  the  past  history  of  nature."  Even 
in  merely  entertaining  literature  we  do  not  tolerate 
flagrant  violation  of  these  notions.  "The  right  kind 
of  thing  should  fall  out  in  the  right  kind  of  place ;  the 
right  thing  should  follow ;  and  not  only  must  the  char- 
acters talk  aptly  and  think  naturally,  but  all  the  circum- 
stances in  a  tale  must  answer  one  another,  like  notes 
in  music ;  the  threads  of  a  story  must  come  from  time 
to  time  together  and  make  a  picture  in  the  web;  the 
characters  must  fall  from  time  to  time  into  some  atti- 
tude to  each  other  or  to  nature,  which  stamps  the  story 
home  like  an  illustration.  Crusoe  recoiling  from  the 
foot-print,  Achilles  shouting  over  against  the  Trojans, 
Ulysses  bending  the  great  bow,  Christian  running  with 
his  fingers  in  his  ears,  — ...  these  are  epoch-making 
scenes  which  put  the  mark  of  truth  upon  a  story."  ^ 

"  George  Eliot's  characters  are  substantial  living  peo- 
ple, filling  us  with  an  intense  sense  of  reality.    Looking 

1  Robert  L.  Stevenson,  A  Gossip  on  Romance,  255. 


134  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

into   our  own  lives,  we  know  that  their  secret  vicis- 
situdes are   true.     In  Tom    and    Maggie   Tulliver,  in 
Dorothea  Brooke,  in  Tito  Melema,  in  Gwendolen  Har- 
leth,  we    enter  into  and   identify  ourselves 

nittstrations.       .  ,       ,       .  .  r.        i  , 

w^ith  the  inner  experience  oi  a  human  soul. 
Like  ourselves  they  are  subject  to  change,  acted  upon 
by  others,  acting  on  others  in  their  turn ;  moulded  by 
the  daily  pressure  of  tilings  within  and  without.  We 
are  made  to  understand  the  growth  or  the  degener- 
ation of  their  souls ;  to  see  how  and  why  Tito  slips 
half  consciously  down  the  easy  slopes  of  self-indulgence, 
or  Romola  learns  through  the  discipline  of  suffering  to 
ascend  the  heights  of  self-renunciation  and  find  peace. 
Weakness,  prompting  to  thoughtless  self-gratification, 
is  wicked  and  brings  inevitable  retribution.  The  death 
of  selfishness  is  our  road  and  the  world's  road  to  prog- 
ress and  peace."  ^ 

"  Preachers  may  learn  a  lesson  from  the  best  writers 
of  fiction.  They  study  the  necessities  of  the  narrative. 
They  keep  to  the  probabilities  of  history.     Mr.  Dickens 

tells  us  that  wliile  he  was  publishing  The 

Dickens.  /^t  -,      r^        •       •  m  ■    ^  1 

Old  Curiosity  /Shop  as  a  serial  story,  he  re- 
ceived letters  from  friends  and  strangers  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic,  begging  him  not  to  give  a  tragic  ending 
to  the  story,  by  the  death  of  "  Little  Nell."  But  those 
letters  were  to  his  mind  evidence  that  the  tragic  end 
was  the  necessary  one,  because  the  only  natural  one. 
Else  why  did  readers  forbode  it?  That  instructive 
foreboding  was  an  instinctive  decree  of  art.  So  Mr. 
Dickens  reasoned ;  and  he  refused  to  obey  the  sugges- 
tions of  his  correspondents."  ^ 

1  Pancoast,  English  Literature,  377.     ^  Phelps,  Theory  of  Preaching,  38G. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  135 

It  has  been  questioned  whether    Uncle   Toms  Cabhi 

was  an  entirely  correct  description  of  a  slave-holding 

community  ;  whether  there  were  not  hosts  of  considerate 

and  merciful  slaveholders.     It  was  not  the 

oi        ^^^*  Stowe. 
authors  purpose  to  describe  this  class,     hhe 

was  engaged  upon  a  "  novel  with  a  purpose,"  an  anti- 
slavery  tract,  not  an  economic  study.  She  was  attempt- 
ing to  portray,  and  she  succeeded  in  portraying,  the 
probable  conditions  of  life  under  a  system  of  slavery, 
a  system  where  the  law  gave  the  owner  absolute  power 
over  his  human  chattels,  a  system  responsible  for  the 
worst  conditions  arising  under  it.  So  far  from  denying 
the  probability  of  the  conditions  portrayed,  many  South- 
erners of  high  standing  admitted  that  every  incident 
could  be  duplicated  from  their  own  observation.  The 
success  of  this  novel,  like  that  of  every  "  novel  with  a 
purpose,"  depended  upon  its  squaring  with  actual  facts. 
Its  premises  could  not  be  arbitrarily  chosen. 

The  writer  of  fiction,  since  he  aims  at  general  truth 
and  not  at  particular  truths,  may  prefer  an  impossibility 
which  may  be  made  to  seem  probable,  to  a  probability 
which  seems  impossible.  This  is  the  case  impossible 
with  most  of  the  incidents  in  the  career  of  JJ.^baWe^^^"^ 
Jean  Valjean,  in  Hugo's  Les  Miserables,  and  Victor  Hugro. 
with  the  character  of  the  hero  himself.  His  sudden 
conversion  from  hardened  criminal  to  tender-hearted 
philanthropist,  is  an  impossibility  which  by  clever  man- 
agement is  made  to  seem  quite  probable.  So  in  Notre 
Dame :  — 


"  Esmeralda  is  an  improbable,  almost  impossible  being.  Ko 
one  writing  now,  with  evolution  in  the  air,  would  venture  to 
disregard  the  laws  of  inherited  tendency  so  far  as  to  evoke  such 


136  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    APwGUMENTATION. 

a  character  from  the  cloud-land  of  fancy.  Mr.  Francis  Galton 
would  laugh  him  to  scorn.  The  girl's  mother  was,  —  far  from 
being  a  model  of  her  sex  ;  her  father  was,  —  anybody  you  like. 
Yet  from  such  parentage  of  vice  come  exquisite  beauty  and 
superior  virtue.  Failing  birth-gifts,  no  education  accounts  for 
so  delicate  a  product.  Dragged  from  infancy  through  the 
ditches  that  lie  along  the  broad  highway  of  life,  she  is  now 
dwelling  in  one  of  the  foulest  dens  in  the  foul  old  city.  She  is 
as  impossible  as  Sue's  Fleur  de  Marie.  Yet  she  is  made  to 
seem  so  probable  and  so  natural  that  one  would  as  soon  think 
of  doubting  that  Portia  did  in  fact  visit  Venice  disguised  as  a 
learned  Judge  from  Padua,  and  after  escaping  her  husband's 
recognition,  confound  Shylock  by  her  superior  interpretation 
of  the  law."  ' 

But  when  Hugo  wished  to  denounce  "  the  external 
fatality  that  hangs  over  men  in  the  form  of  foolish  and 
inflexible  superstition";  or  "awaken  us  a  little  to  the 
cost  of  the  society  which  we  enjoy,  to  the  sweat  and 
labor  of  those  who  support  civilization";  or  "to  show 
man  hand  to  hand  with  the  elements,  the  last  form  of 
external  force  that  is  brought  against  him " ;  when  he 
wishes  in  his  novels  to  exhibit  "the  tyranny  of  religion, 
the  tj^ranny  of  law,  the  tyranny  of  the  elements,"  ^ — he 
must  make  his  causes  and  effects  square  with  the  facts 
of  human  experience. 

"  The  intelligent  theatre-goer  takes  with  him  to  the  play  a 
certain  knowledge  of  historical  relations,  definite  ethical  and 
moral  demands  upon  human  life,  and  either  intimations  or  a 
knowledge  of  the  course  of  events.  He  feels  keen 
^^^T&miL^^^  disappointment  at  any  contradiction  between  what 
he  expects  in  the  circumstances,  and  what  is  pre- 
sented. That  ocean  vessels  should  land  on  the  coast  of  Bohe- 
mia, and  that  Charlemagne  should  use  cannon,  seem  to  him 
serious  mistakes.     That  Shjlock  is  promised  mercy  if  he  will 

1  Marzial,  Victor  Hugo,  112.  2  Introduction  to  Toilers  of  the  Sea. 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  137 

turn  Christian,  shocks  the  spectator's  moral  sense  ;  and  he 
thinks  it  not  probable  that  a  just  judge  has  so  decided. 
The  dramatist  must  make  the  connection  of  events  and  the 
motives  and  characters  of  his  heroes  probable.  The  hearer 
keenly  feels  the  speech  of  Antony  to  be  a  result  of  the  wrong 
which  the  conspirators  have  done  Csesar  ;  and  through  the 
relation  of  Antony  to  Caesar,  and  his  behavior  in  the  previous 
dialogue  scene  with  the  conspirators,  the  speech  is  also  con- 
ceived as  the  necessary  consequence  of  sparing  Antony,  and 
the  senseless  and  overhasty  confidence  which  the  murderers 
place  in  him.  The  character  of  the  mob  makes  the  effect  of 
the  speech  probable.  Thus  internal  consistency,  which  is  the 
same  thing  as  probability,  is  secured  by  representing  an  event 
which  follows  another  as  an  effect  of  which  that  other  is  an 
evident  cause.     This  is  called  assigning  the  motive."  ' 

The  argument  from  antecedent  probability  is  used 
wherever  men  reason  with  their  fellows.     Those   ap- 
pealed to  do  not  readily  accept  what  cannot  be  naturally 
accounted    for.     The    political    orator   must 
show  why  his  party,  his  measures  or  his  can-  ^ff^irs. 
didates,  may  be  more  serviceable  to  the  voter 
than  those   of   his  opponent.     The   organizer  seeking 
capital  for  investment,  must  show  why  the  investment 
is  likely  to  turn  out  well.     The  preacher  must  give  a 
reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  him,  and  that  he  wishes 
to  inspire  in  his  hearers.     Matters  of  legislation  and  of 
finance  are  directed  largely  by  arguments  from  antece- 
dent probability. 

The  criminal  lawyer  has  special  need  of  the  argu- 
ment from  antecedent   probability.     In  the 
absence  of  direct  evidence  it  is  very  difficult  prosecutions, 
to  convince  a  jury  of  the  guilt  of  a  person, 
without   adducing  a  sufficient  motive    for   the    guilty 

1  Freytag,  Technique  of  the  Drama,  traus.  by  MacEwan,  32-36. 


138  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

deed.  Motive  is  to  human  conduct  what  cause  is  to 
phenomena  in  science.  Even  when  we  are  convinced 
by  direct  evidence  that  a  person  has  been  guilty  of 
wrong  doing,  we  still  naturally  inquire  why  he  did  the 
wrong;  what  was  his  motive,  Webster's  defense  of 
the  Kenniston  brothers  under  indictment  for  highway 
robbery  on  the  person  of  Major  Goodrich,  is  a  familiar 
instance  of  the  difficulty  of  establishing  a  proposition 
lacking  antecedent  probability.  The  theory  of  the 
defense  was  that  Goodrich  robbed  himself,  that  is,  the 
robbery  was  a  fiction.  The  lack  of  sufficient  motive 
for  such  a  performance  presents  a  difficulty  quite  evi- 
dent in  Webster's  arguing  :  — 

"  It  is  next  to  be  considered  whether  the  prosecutor's  story' 
is  either  natural  or  consistent.  But,  on  the  threshold  of  the 
inquiry,  every  one  puts  the  question,  '  What  motive  had  the 
prosecutor  to  be  guilty  of  the  abominable  conduct 
of  feigning  a  robbery  ? '  It  is  difficult  to  assign 
motives.  The  jur}'  do  not  know  enough  of  his  character  or 
circumstances.  Such  things  have  happened,  and  may  happen 
again.  Suppose  he  owed  money  in  Boston,  and  had  it 
not  to  pay  ?  Who  knows  how  high  he  might  estimate  the 
value  of  a  plausible  apology  ?  Some  men  have  also  a  whim- 
sical ambition  of  distinction.  There  is  no  end  to  the  variety 
of  modes  in  which  human  vanity  exhibits  itself.  A  story  of 
this  nature  excites  the  iDublic  sympathy.  It  attracts  general 
attention.  It  causes  the  name  of  the  prosecutor  to  be  cel- 
ebrated as  a  man  who  has  been  attacked,  and  after  a  manly 
resistance,  overcome  by  robbers,  and  who  has  renewed  his 
resistance  as  soon  as  returning  life  and  sensation  enabled  him, 
and,  after  a  second  conflict,  has  been  quite  subdued,  beaten 
and  bruised  out  of  all  sense  and  sensation,  and  finally  left  for 
dead  on  the  field.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  how  far  such  motives, 
trifling  and  ridiculous,  as  most  men  would  think  them,  might 
influence  the  prosecutor,  when  connected  with  any  expectation 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  139 

of  favor  or  indulgence,  if  he  wanted  such,  from  his  creditors. 
It  is  to  be  remembered  that  he  probably  did  not  see  all  the 
consequences  of  his  conduct,  if  his  robbery  be  a  pretence.  He 
might  not  intend  to  prosecute  anybody.  But  he  probably 
found,  and  indeed  there  is  evidence  to  show,  that  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  do  something  to  find  out  the  authors  of 
the  alleged  robbery.  He  manifested  no  particular  zeal  on  this 
subject.  He  was  in  no  haste.  He  appears  rather  to  have  been 
pressed  by  others  to  do  that  which,  if  he  had  really  been  robbed, 
we  should  suppose  he  would  have  been  most  earnest  to  do,  the 
earliest  moment."  ^ 

No  such  difficulty  presented  itself  in  the  case  of  the 
Knapps  on  trial  for  the  murder  of  Captain  White. 

"It  is  said  that  VanderpooP  had  no  motive  for  killing  his 
partner,  Field.     Field  had  been  trying  to  sell  out  and  go  into 
other  business.     He  had  withdrawn  five  hundred 
dollars,  and  this  did  not  please  Vanderpool.    Paper  ^° 

was  falling  due.  Vanderpool  needed  money.  .  .  .  Here  is  just 
the  motive,  —  need  of  money,  wrangling,  division."  ' 

"  Forty  men  were  indicted  for  train-wrecking  on  the  Michi- 
gan Central  Railroad,  near  Jackson.    The  railroad  had  recently 
passed  from  state  control  to  a  corporation.     The 
state  had  always  paid  liberally  for  all  animals  killed   ^^^\ 
by  trains.     The  farmers  along  the  road  thus  found 
a  ready  market  for  their  animals,  which  they  took  little  pains 
to  keep  off  the  track.     The  corporation  refused  to  pay  as  liber- 
ally ;  and  as  a  method  of  revenge  the  farmers  entered  into 
numerous  schemes  for  wrecking  trains."  * 

"  Isaac  Pierce,  when  almost  an  old  man,  had  repudiated  the 
wife  of  his  youth,  who  had  passed  with  him  through  all  the 
hardships  of  pioneer  farm-life.     He  had  married  a 
handsome,  scheming  young  widow.     Dying,  he  left   ^^^^^^  ^^^ 

C&S6. 

all  of  his  vast  estate  to  this  younger  woman,  ignor- 
ing the  claims  of  his  former  wife  and  her  children.     His  mo- 
tive evidently  was  the  desire  of  a  vain  and  weak  old  man  to 

1  Select  Speeches,  ed.  A.  J.  George,  5-G.  2  Page  55. 

3  Modern  Jury  Trials,  VM.  ^  Ibid,  247. 


140  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATION. 

please  a  dashing  and  designing  woman  who  flattered  his  senile 
vanity."  ^ 

Care  must  be  taken  that  the  assigned  motives  are  not 
incongruous  :  — 

"  The  shooting  was  the  result  of  an  insane  impulse,  the  act 
of  an  irrational  and  irresponsible  being  ;  it  was 
Incongruous    ^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^le  well-founded   apprehension    that 
Motives.  .  p    1       T    n 

it  was  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  the  defen- 
dant's life,  or  against  serious  bodily  harm."  ^ 

Each  side  of  a  case  may  usually  be  supported  by 
arguments  of  this  class,  their  force  varying  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  case,  and  other  antecedent  proba- 
Antecedent  bilities.  Something  may  intervene  between 
Probabiuties  ^  ^ause  and  its  natural  effect.     Motives  may 

on  Both  *^ 

Sides.  be  counteracted.     When  need  would  prompt 

to  theft,  fear  of  detection  might  deter.  When  revenge 
would  prompt  to  the  wrecking  of  trains,  horror  at  the 
loss  of  life  occasioned,  or  at  the  certainty  of  punish- 
ment, might  restrain  from  the  crime.  Where  one's 
inherited  disposition  would  naturally  lead  to  a  life  of 
dissipation  and  crime,  the  influence  of  friends,  respect 
for  public  opinion,  the  restraints  of  education,  and  the 
fear  of  the  law,  might  be  stronger  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion. When  senile  vanity,  responding  to  flattery,  would 
disinherit  wife  and  children  in  favor  of  the  flatterer,  a 
sense  of  justice  and  conjugal  or  parental  affection  might 
prompt  to  the  making  of  a  subsequent  will.  Where 
covetousness  and  greed  of  gold  would  impel  a  depraved 
Knapp  or  Vanderpool  to  commit  murder,  the  certainty 
of  detection  and  the  severity  of  punishment  might  deter. 

1  Modern  Jury  Trials.  '^  I,bid. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUINIENTS.  141 

The  cautious  arguer  will  take  into  account  the  pres- 
ence or  absence  of  antecedent  probabilities,  whether  for 
or  against  his  proposition,  whether  his  subject  is  in  the 
realm  of  human  action  or  of  natural  events,  prgponder- 

He  will  carefully  estimate  their  force.     He  anceof 

^     .  ,  1    1  -T        Probabili- 

will  find  some  as  strong  as  the  probability  ties. 

that  natural  laws  are  constant,  or  human  ac-  ^^^^P^es. 
tion  uniform  in  similar  circumstances.  Others  may  prove 
as  weak  as  the  probability  that  a  local  shower  in  June 
will  raise  the  price  of  September  corn  the  world  over, 
or  that  the  failure  of  a  village  bank  will  demoralize 
national  finances.  He  will  also  consider  carefully 
whether  or  not  his  proposition  admits  of  this  kind  of 
argument  at  all.  The  propositions,  "  The  world,  as  we 
know  it,  is  the  product  of  special  creation,"  and  "  The 
human  race  is  descended  from  a  single  pair,"  could 
hardly  be  argued  directly  from  antecedent  probability, 
since  we  cannot  calculate  causes  that  might  be  operative 
before  the  beginning  of  creation.  When  this  kind  of 
argument  can  be  used,  and  a  conflict  is  found  between 
antecedent  probabilities,  they  are  to  be  carefully  weighed, 
and  in  the  absence  of  other  determining  evidence,  the 
matter  is  decided  by  the  preponderance  of  probability. 
All  the  circumstances  on  the  morning  of  the  finding  of 
Captain  White's  body,  showed  a  strong  preponderance 
of  probability  in  favor  of  the  theory  that  he  came  to  his 
death  by  violence,  and  at  the  hands  of  some  one  well 
acquainted  with  the  house,  over  any  other  theory.  In 
the  case  of  the  American  Colonies,  with  their  agricul- 
ture, their  fisheries,  their  growing  commerce,  their 
rapidly  increasing  population,  and  their  intense  love 
of  liberty,  it  was  much  more  probable  that  they  would 


142  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUISIENTATION. 

successfully  resist  British  oppression,  than  that  they 
would  submit  to  taxation  without  representation.  Hux- 
ley finds  a  much  stronger  probability  that  the  various 
equine  forms  explained  in  his  lectures  on  evolution, 
represent  stages  in  the  process  of  development,  than 
that  they  are  instances  of  special  creation.  Theologians 
argue  from  the  benevolence  of  the  Creator  that  there  is 
a  preponderance  of  probability  in  favor  of  his  making  a 
revelation  of  himself  to  his  creatures  rather  than  leav- 
ing them  in  uncertainty.  Some  argue  from  the  neces- 
sity of  divine  justice  that  the  sins  of  men  will  receive 
eternal  punishment ;  others  argue  from  the  power  of 
divine  love  and  mercy,  that  in  the  future  life,  all  will 
be  absolved  from  the  consequences  of  sin,  or  that  a  new 
probation  will  be  given. 

"  Those  who  disbelieve  in  the  Christian  miracles,  argue 
from  antecedent  probability  that  what  science  calls  '  the 
order  of  nature  '  cannot  be  disturbed  ;  those  who  believe 
in  the  miracles,  argue  that  there  was  an  adequate  cause 
for  them :  in  this  instance,  the  preponderance  of  proba- 
bility is  to  some  minds  on  the  side  of  belief  in  miracles, 
to  other  minds  on  the  side  of  disbelief."  ^  In  his  Liver- 
pool speech  Mr.  Beecher  asked  Englishmen  to  decide 
upon  antecedent  probability  whether  a  slave-holding 
South  or  a  free  South  would  give  the  better  market  for 
English  wares.  From  their  evident  sympathy  for  the 
South  and  their  efforts  in  behalf  of  that  section,  the  pre- 
ponderance of  probability  in  their  minds  seemed  to  be  in 
favor  of  a  market  of  slave-holders. 

Common  sources  of  error  in  arguing  from  antecedent 
probability  are,  —  assuming  causes  and  motives  which 
1  A.  S.  Hill,  Principles  of  EhetoHc,  366. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  143 

are  not  such  at  all  —  non  causa  pro  causa  ^  —  and  which 
are  not  adequate  to  account  for  the  phenomena,  or  which 
account  for  but  part;  attributing  too  much  to  a  certain 
cause  or  motive,  non  sequitur^  and  neglecting  Material 
other  possible  causes  and  motives  ;  and  ignor-  ^^^g^^* 
ing,  or  paying  too  little  attention  to  what  cause, 
makes  against  the  arguer's  theory.  ^  A  thorough 
mastery  of  the  subject  and  a  careful  study  of  relations, 
will  enable  the  honest  reasoner  to  avoid  these  errors. 
Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  hear  honesty,  industry, 
perseverance,  early  rising,  temperance,  singleness  of  pur- 
pose, economy,  and  each  of  the  cardinal  virtues  in  turn, 
cited  as  the  sole  cause  of  one's  "getting  on  in  the 
world."  ^  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  one  of  these  causes 
alone  is  adequate,  and  frequently  many  of  them  com- 
bined fail  unless  united  with  still  other  forces  operating 
in  favorable  circumstances.  The  arguer  of  sane  judg- 
ment analyzes  cases  and  exhibits  relations ;  the  "crank  " 
assumes  a  single  cause  of  all  ills,  and  a  single  cure. 
In  the  case  of  the  Knapp  brothers  Webster  did  not  con- 
sider the  motive  alone  sufficient  to  establish  guilt;  he 
showed  them  to  be  men  unscrupulous  in  character ;  he 
adduced  positive  circumstances  to  corroborate  what  was 
only  one  element  of  probability. 

"  They  who  have  made  but  superficial  studies  in  the  natural 
history  of  the  human  mind,  have  been  taught  to  look  on  re- 
ligious opinions  as  the  only  cause  of  enthusiastic  zeal  and  sec- 
tarian propagation.  But  there  is  no  doctrine  whatever,  on 
which  men  can  warm,  that  is  not  capable  of  the  very  same 
effect.  The  social  nature  of  man  impels  him  to  propagate  his 
principles,  as  much  as  physical  impulses  urge  him  to  propagate 
his  kind.     The  passions  give  zeal  and  vehemence.     The  under- 

1  Page  118.  2  Page  121.  8  Page  119. 


144  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

standing  bestows  design  and  system.     The  whole  man  moves 
under  the  discipUne  of  his  opinions."  ' 

There  is  too  much  reasoning  —  or  the  lack  of  it  — 
like  that  of  Stevenson's  companions  in  the  second  cabin. 
"  They  did  not  perceive  relations,  but  leaped  to  a  so- 
called  cause,  and  thought  the  problem  settled. 
Emigrant       Thus  the  cause  of  everythinof  in  Eno^land  was 

Reasoning:.  -^  °  ^ 

the  form  of  Government,  and  the  cure  for  all 
evils  was,  by  consequence,  a  Revolution.  It  is  surprising 
how  many  of  them  said  this,  and  that  none  should  have 
had  a  definite  thought  in  his  head  as  he  said  it.  Some 
hated  the  Church  because  they  disagreed  with  it ;  some 
hated  Lord  Beaconsfield  because  of  war  and  taxes ;  all 
hated  the  masters,  possibly  with  reason.  But  these  feel- 
ings were  not  at  the  root  of  the  matter ;  the  true  reason- 
ing of  their  souls  ran  thus  — '  I  have  not  got  on ;  I  ought 
to  have  got  on ;  if  there  was  a  revolution  I  should  get 
on.'  'How?'  They  had  no  idea.  'Why?'  'Because 
—  because  —  well,  look  at  America.'  "  ^ 

Another  common  error  is  to  base  an  argument  from 
antecedent  probability  on  a  fiction  lacking  all  probability, 
instead  of  basing  it  on  actual  facts  or  events  from  experi- 
ence.    This  fallacy  involves  the  same  prin- 

ProbabiUty  ,  '■'       ,  i        o 

Based  on        ciple  as  arguing  from  invented  examples,  ^  or 

Fiction.         ixoYj^  premises  arbitrarily  chosen.     Whately's 

illustration  *  is  a  good  as  any :  — 

"  The  fable  of  the  countryman  who  obtained  from  Jupiter 
the  regulation  of  the  weather,  and  in  consequence  found  his 
crops  fail,  does  not  go  one  step  toward  proving  the  intended 
conclusion  ;  because  that  consequence  is  a  mere  gratuitous 
assumption  without  any  probability  to  support  it.     In  fact  the 

1  Burke.  2  R.  L.  Stevenson,  The  Amateur  Emigrant,  148. 

8  See  Page  149.  ^  Rhetoric,  130. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  146 

assumption  there  is  not  only  gratuitous,  but  is  in  direct  contra- 
diction to  experience  ;  for  a  gardener  has,  to  a  certain  degree, 
the  command  of  rain  and  sunshine,  by  the  help  of  his  watering 
pots,  glasses,  hot-beds,  and  flues  ;  and  the  result  is  not  the 
destruction  of  his  crops." 

A  fable,  a  story  or  an  imaginary  case,  may  like  meta- 
phor or  simile,  illustrate  a  principle  or  make  it  more  im- 
pressive, but  must  not  be  offered  in  proof.  Too  much 
juvenile  literature  is  of  this  sort.  **  Be  good 
and  you  will  be  happy"  is  the  theme;  and  ^^^^^ 
boys  and  girls  of  impossible  goodness  are 
made,  at  the  end  of  the  story,  to  attain  impossible  happi- 
ness, —  and  the  proposition  is  proved.  From  Gladstone's 
strictures  on  Robert  Msmere^  it  might  seem  that  more 
pretentious  stories  are  not  always  entirely  free  from  this 
fault.  A  sophist  not  infrequently  "supposes  a  case," 
and  then  uses  his  supposititious  facts,  incidents  and 
results,  as  if  they  were  real  instances;  if  they  were 
real  and  enough  of  them  were  adduced,  they  would 
have  some  force  as  arguments,  but  being  assumed,  they 
prove  nothing.  1 

Arguments  from  antecedent  probability  vary  in  force. 
They  may  amount  to  practical  certainty ;  they  may  be 
mere  guesses.     They  may  be  as  strong  as  the  probability 
that  the  sun  will  continue  to  rise  and  set,  or 
no  stronger  than  the  probability  that  it  will  p^^"^ 
be  fair  weather  the  Fourth  of  July.     Their 
force  depends  upon  the  closeness  of  causal  relation,  the 
adequacy  of  the  cause  or  strength  of  motive  and  the 
certainty  of  its  operation,  and  the  absence  of  anything 
to  hinder  or  modify  its  natural  results.     In  scientific 

1  Page  149. 


146  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

matters  arguments  from  antecedent  probability  may 
amount  to  demonstration ;  in  deliberative  bodies,  they 
may  amount  to  a  basis  for  voting ;  in  practical  affairs, 
to  a  reasonable  basis  for  action.  They  have  more  force 
in  scientific  matters  than  in  social,  since  the  laws  of  the 
physical  universe  are  more  stable  and  uniform  than  the 
laws  of  human  conduct.  They  have  to  the  common 
mind,  more  force  in  familiar  practical  affairs  where  all 
men  have  a  similar  breadth  of  experience,  than  in  more 
remote  or  unfamiliar  matters. 

Arguments  from    Example    are    based  upon   resem- 
blance.i     Their  cogency  lies  in  men's  belief  that  what  has 
happened  once  in  certain  circumstances,  or  under  cer- 
tain influences,  will  in  similar  circumstances 
Arg:ainents 

from  or    under  similar  influences  happen   again; 

xamp  e.  ^^  ^^^^  persons,  objects,  acts,  events,  alike  in 
several  respects  connected  with  the  point  in  question, 
will  be  alike  in  the  point  in  question.  In  this  class  of 
arguments  logical  sequence  usually  coincides  with 
chronological,  but  it  may  be  the  reverse.  That  from 
which  the  argument  is  drawn,  may  be  contemporary 
with  that  toward  which  the  argument  is  directed,  or 
even  subsequent  to  it.  The  argument  from  example 
differs  from  induction  in  that  it  may  use  fewer  in- 
stances, and  argue  from  one  or  more  single  instances 
to  another  single  instance  as  well  as  to  a  general  law ; 
but  like  induction  its  basis  is  experience  or  observation. 
Its  purpose  is  not  to  tell  tvhi/  a  tiling  is  so,  but  to  in- 
duce the  belief  that  it  is  so.  When  it  goes  from  a  case 
under  a  certain  principle  to  another  case  similar  to  this, 
it  does  not  necessarily  state  the  principle.     From  like- 

1  Page  124. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  147 

ness  ill  cases  it  infers  a  likeness  in  results.  Without 
seeking  to  show  the  cause  of  a  result,  it  seeks  to  show 
that  the  result  exists. 

In  his  speech  On  American  Taxation^  Burke  argued 
from  example,  —  'You  tried  in  Wales  to  raise  a  re- 
venue which  the  people  thought  excessive  and  unjust : 
the  attempt  ended  in  oppression,  resistance, 

,    „.         ^     _    ,  ,  Tr  -1  niustrations. 

rebellion  and  loss  to  yourselves.  You  tried 
in  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  to  raise  a  revenue  which  the 
people  believed  unjust :  this  effort  ended  in  oppression, 
rebellion,  vexation  and  loss  to  yourselves.  You  are 
now  trying  to  raise  in  America  a  revenue  which  the 
Colonists  disapprove.     What  must  be  the  result?' 

In  this  example  the  general  principle  is  not  stated. 
In  the  following  paragraph  from  his  Speech  on  Concili- 
ation, the  rule  is  stated  and  the  examples  are  adduced 
to  sustain  a  case,  that  of  the  Colonies,  under  it :  — 

"  In  large  bodies  the  circulation  of  power  must  be  less  vigor- 
ous at  the  extremities.  Nature  has  said  it.  The  Turk  cannot 
govern  Egypt  and  Arabia  and  Kurdistan  as  he  governs  Thrace; 
nor  has  he  the  same  dominion  in  Crimea  and  Algiers  which  he 
has  at  Brusa  and  Smyrna.  Despotism  itself  is  obliged  to  truck 
and  huckster.  The  Sultan  gets  such  obedience  as  he  can.  He 
governs  with  a  loose  rein  that  he  may  govern  at  all ;  and  the 
whole  of  the  force  and  vigor  of  his  authority  in  his  centre  is 
derived  from  a  prudent  relaxation  in  all  his  borders.  Spain, 
in  her  provinces,  is,  perhaps,  not  so  well  obeyed  as  you  are  in 
yours.  She  complies,  too.  She  watches  times.  This  is  the 
immutable  condition,  the  eternal  Law  of  extensive  and  detach- 
ed Empire."  ' 

In  the  Speech  on  Conciliation  his  general  arguments 
from  example  may  be  condensed  thus  :  '  Nothing  could 

1  Select  Works,  I.  184. 


148  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

ever  have  made  Ireland  English  in  civility  and  allegi- 
ance, but  English  laws  and  English  forms  of  legislature  ; 
not  English  arms,  but  the  English  constitution  con- 
quered Wales ;  Chester,  civilized  as  well  as  Wales, 
demonstrated  that  freedom,  not  servitude,  is  the  cure 
for  anarchy;  in  the  case  of  Durham,  parliament  re- 
cognized the  equity  of  not  suffering  any  district  in 
which  British  subjects  may  act  in  a  body,  to  be  taxed 
without  their  own  voice  in  the  grant.  If  the  force  of 
their  examples  in  the  acts  of  parliament  avail  anything, 
what  can  be  said  against  applying  them  with  regard  to 
America?  The  cases  are  parallel  in  every  essential 
particular.'  In  these  cases,  two  or  more  examples  are 
adduced. 

A  single  example  in  which  there  are  many  resem- 
blances or  a  complete  resemblance,  may  have  great 
force.  A  horse  of  a  given  size,  age,  conformation, 
breeding,  disposition,  training,  soundness,  is 
Examples.  ^  ^^^^  trotter.  Men  argue  that  another  horse, 
of  the  same  size,  age,  conformation,  breeding, 
disposition,  soundness,  will  with  the  same  training  be  a 
fast  trotter ;  and  they  are  so  certain  of  this  that,  trust- 
ing to  these  resemblances,  they  will  pay  a  large  price 
for  such  an  animal.  In  such  cases  if  the  points  of 
resemblance  are  thought  of  as  causes  of  which  the  point 
in  question  is  an  effect,  the  argument  becomes  one  from 
antecedent  probability.  If  numerous  instances  are  used 
to  establish  the  causal  relation  and  arrive  at  a  law,  the 
process  is  an  induction.  But  if  the  resemblances  are 
thought  of  only  as  facts,  the  argument  is  from  example. 

Real  examples  are  drawn  from  actual  experience  or 
observation ;    fictitious    examjjles    are    imaginary  cases 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  149 

resembling  the  case  in  hand.  Real  examples  may  have 
force  as  arguments ;  fictitious  examples  may  illustrate 
a  principle,  but  they  rarely  help  to  prove  it.  If  the 
principle  itself  is  in  dispute,  no  supposed  case 
under  that  principle  will  help  to  establish  Fictitious 
it.^  The  proposition  that  a  public  school  is  ^^^^^p^®^- 
better  than  a  private  school,  is  not  supported  by  a  ficti- 
tious account  of  the  success  of  pupils  in  such  a  school 
and  the  failure  of  the  pupils  in  the  other  kind  of  school. 
Some  one  else  may  just  as  well  tell  a  story  reversing 
the  results.  Such  an  invented  example  involves  a  beg- 
ging of  the  question,^  while  a  sufficient  number  of  such 
examples,  if  real,  would  raise  a  strong  probability  in 
favor  of  the  public  school.  If  a  fictitious  example  has 
any  force  as  an  argument,  it  is  because  what  is  sup- 
posed to  be,  naturally  ivould  be.  Antecedent  proba- 
bilities have  been  observed.  It  has  its  basis  in  actual 
experience.  It  merely  uses  old  materials  in  a  new  com- 
bination. "  Fiction  can  help  us  more  clearly  to  under- 
stand or  more  firmly  to  hold  what  we  are  already 
disposed  to  believe  ;  but,  the  premises  of  fiction  being 
arbitrarily  selected,  its  conclusions  can  be  binding  upon 
those  only  who  accept  the  premises  as  fairly  represent- 
ing real  examples.*'  ^ 

The  value  of  instruction  or  argument  by  fable  lies  in 
assigning  to  the  conduct  of  animals  the  same 
controlling  principles  which  ordinarily  govern 
the  actions  of  reasoning  beings. 

In  every-day  affairs  men  act  on  inferences  from 
example.  The  merchant  sells  a  customer  goods  on 
credit,  and  expects  payment  according  to  the  customer's 

1  Page  144.        2  Page  97.        »  A.  S.  Hill,  Principles  of  Rhetoric,  359. 


150  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

previous  promptness  or  delinquency ;  or  a  new  customer 
is  given  credit,  the  salesman  relying  on  the  example  of 
the  class  to  which  this  customer  belongs.  A 
in  Every-  buycr,  Hiindful  of  Jewish  shrewdness  on  a 
former  occasion,  or  remembering  the  reputed 
keenness  of  the  class,  is  on  his  guard  when  dealing  with 
a  Jew.  Many  a  student  goes  to  college,  merely  follow- 
ing the  example  of  a  friend. 

In  every  instance,  a  general  principle  operating  in 
another  case  is  applied  to  the  case  under  discussion. 
"  The  attempted  oppression  of  a  spirited  people  ends  in 
^  jj  ^  failure."  "  The  spirit  of  the  English  consti- 
of  aPrinci-  tution  is  the  most  potent  factor  in  the  man- 
agement of  English  dependents."  "Character 
is  the  result  of  blood  and  education."  "  Prohibition  pro- 
hibits." "  Education  imposes  restraint."  "  The  world- 
intellectual  does  move."  "  Peaceable  means  may  be  ef- 
fective." It  must  be  remembered  that  the  reasoning  is 
not  conclusive,  but  only  raises  a  greater  or  less  degree 
of  probability. 

Most  argumentation  in  law  proceedings  consists  in 
applying  to  a  ncAV  case,  either  a  well-established  defi- 
nition or  a  principle  involved  in  cases  already  decided 
and  governing  them.  These  definitions,  whether  fixed 
by  statutes  or  by  court  decisions,  are  gen- 
Lawcas^es!^  erally  based  on  former  cases.  Erskine's  de- 
fence of  Lord  George  Gordon,  ^  under  indict- 
ment for  high  treason,  and  Webster's  speech  on  the  trial 
of  the  Knapps  for  conspiracy  and  murder,  ^  afford  Avell- 
known  instances  of  the  ap])lication  of  a  definition. 
Usually,  however,  the  method,  specially  in  civil  cases, 

1  Goodrich's  British  Eloquence,  637.  2  Page  282. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  151 

is  one  of  example.  The  case  may  involve  the  owner- 
ship of  property,  damages  for  breach  of  contract,  the 
right  of  way,  the  possession  of  a  child,  or  innumerable 
other  things.  When  the  evidence  to  establish  facts  has 
been  presented,  other  cases  involving  similar  facts  are 
collected  and  collated.  The  general  principle  running 
through  all  these  cases  and  determining  them,  is  dis- 
covered and  applied  to  the  case  in  hand.  In  most  cases 
many  issues  arising  in  the  progress  of  the  trial,  and 
subordinate  to  the  general  issue,  must  be  decided  in  this 
way. 

"  The  law  is  a  vast  system  of  minute  regulations,  developed 
by  the  application  of  a  few  great  principles  to  the  affairs  of  men. 
Whenever  the  application  of  these  principles  to  one  condition 
of  affairs  has  resulted  in  the  formal  statement  of  a  rule,  that 
rule  becomes  the  law  for  all  identical  conditions  of  affairs. 
And  as  these  principles  can  never  change,  when  a  new  case 
arises  the  rules  which  it  demands  must  correspond  with  pre- 
existing rules  in  such  proportion  as  the  new  condition  of  affairs 
is  like  the  old.  This  mode  of  reasoning  from  similarities  is 
analogy  (example).  In  its  syllogistic '  form  the  minor  premise 
asserts  the  similarity  between  the  case  decided  and  the  present 
case.  The  major  states  the  doctrine  of  the  cited  case,  and  the 
conclusion  predicates  the  same  rule  of  the  case  at  bar.  The 
error  of  which,  in  this  form  of  inference,  there  is  great  danger, 
will  always  be  found  in  the  minor  premise.  The  doctrine  of 
the  cited  case  is  generally  clear  enough  to  defy  serious  attack  ; 
but  the  assertion  of  such  similarity  between  the  cases  as  war- 
rants the  extension  of  the  rule  to  both,  is  often  utterly  without 
foundation.  Hence,  in  employing  analogous  cases  (examples) 
as  the  basis  of  his  inferences,  the  advocate  should  formulate 
his  dangerous  premise  with  special  care,  and  thoroughly  test 
its  accuracy  and  truth.  It  is  in  this  department  of  legal  in- 
ference that  the  most  splendid  triumphs  of  forensic  reasoning 

1  Page  90. 


152  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

are  achieved.     It  may  win  a  cause  to  discover  and  produce  an 
exactly  parallel  case  from  an  authoritative  court,"  ' 

The  argument  a  fortiori  is  a  special  kind  of  argument 
from  example.  It  shows  that  if  a  certain  prin- 
ciple is  applicable  to  another  case  mentioned, 

as  it  is  conceded  to  be,  it  is  much  more  applicable  to  the 

case  in  question. 

"  Wherefore  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  which  to-day  is,  and 
to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  much  more  clothe 
you,  O  ye  of  Httle  faith?  "  ^ 

"If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto 
your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Heavenly  Father  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him  ?  "  ^ 

"  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing  ?  And  one  of  them 
shall  not  fall  to  the  ground  without  your  Father.  Fear  ye  not, 
therefore,  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows."  * 

This  has  always  been  a  favorite  argument  of  forensic 
orators.  It  can  be  made  very  forceful  to  the  simplest 
mind :  — 

"  But  it  seems  that  Lord  George  ought  to  have  foreseen  that 
so  great  a  multitude  could  not  be  collected  without  mischief. 
Gentlemen,  we  are  not  trying  whether  he  might  or  ought  to 
have  foreseen  mischief,  but  whether  he  wickedly  and  traitor- 
ously xjveconcerted  and  designed  it.  But  if  Jie  be  an  object  of 
censure  for  not  foreseeing  it,  what  shall  we  saj^  to  (jovernment 
that  took  no  steps  to  prevent  it,  that  issued  no  proclamation 
warning  the  people  of  the  danger  and  illegality  of  such  an 
assembly?  If  a  peaceable  multitude,  with  a  petition  in  their 
hands,  be  an  army,  and  if  the  noise  and  confusion  inseparable 
from  numbers,  though  without  violence  or  the  purpose  of  vio- 
lence, constitute  war,  what  shall  be  said  of  that  government 
which  remained  from  Tuesday  to  Friday,  knowing  that  an  army 
was  collecting  to  levy  war  by  public  advertisement,  yet  had  not 

^  Robinson,  Forensic  Oratory,  111.  2  Matthew  vi.  30. 

8  Ibid,  vii.  11.  4  jbia,  X.  29. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  153 

a   single    soldier,    no,    nor   even  a  constable,    to   protect   the 
state?"' 

Arguments  from  example  vary  in  force.  The  degree  of 
force  depends  upon  the  number  of  instances,  the  number 
of  resemblances,  the  points  of  resemblance,  —  whether 
they   are  accidental  or  essential,  —  and  the  ^ 

points  of  difference.  The  more  nearly  the  Force  of 
cases  approach  to  identity,  the  more  force 
the  example  presents  as  an  argument.  From  the  an- 
alysis of  a  single  ray  of  sunlight  into  the  prismatic 
colors,  it  was  justly  concluded  that  all  rays  would  by 
the  same  analysis  give  the  same  results.  There  would 
be  the  same  certainty  with  a  drop  of  distilled  water 
under  analysis.  "A  single  experiment  is  frequently 
devised  by  which  a  theory  must  stand  or  fall.  Of  this 
character  was  the  determination  of  the  velocity  of  light 
in  liquids  as  a  crucial  test  of  the  Emission  Theor3\ 
According  to  it,  light  traveled  faster  in  water  than  in 
air;  according  to  the  Undulatory  Theory,  it  traveled 
faster  in  air  than  in  water.  An  experiment  suggested 
by  Arago,  and  executed  by  Fizeau  and  Foucault,  was 
conclusive  against  Newton's  Theory.  "  ^  A  single  ex- 
periment with  bodies  of  different  densities  falling  in  a 
vacuum,  would  be  sufficient  to  establish  the  principle  of 
equal  times.  When  Pasteur  had  sucpeeded  in  perfectly 
excluding  the  air  from  the  matter  in  which  all  living 
organisms  had  been  destroyed  by  heat,  he  concluded 
from  a  very  few  instances,  ''  tliat  the  infusoria,  which 
had  been  attributed  to  spontaneous  generation,  were  de- 
veloped from  little  minute  spores  or  eggs,  which  were 

1  Goodrich,  BHtish  Eloquence,  551. 
■2  Tjndall,  Frayineuts  of  Science,  409. 


154  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

constantly  floating  in  the  air,  and  which  lose  their 
power  of  germination  if  subjected  to  heat."  But  ex- 
amples have  much  less  probative  force,  when  they  in- 
volve the  motives,  desires,  ability  and  character  of  men. 
*'  One  man  is  not  so  exactly  similar  to  another  man,  one 
race  of  men  is  not  so  exactly  similar  to  another  race  of 
men,  one  political  community  is  not  so  exactly  similar  to 
another  political  community,  as  one  piece  of  platinum  is 
to  another  piece  of  platinum,  or  as  one  vial  of  oxygen 
is  to  another  vial  of  oxygen." 

Goldsmith,  Scott,  Swift,  Irving  and  Beecher,  were 
dull  as  school  boys,  but  in  mature  life  exhibited  marked 
genius  in  certain  directions.  Many  a  parent,  therefore, 
finds  consolation  for  a  child's  stupidity  in  school  from 
the  example  of  these  men,  when  perhaps  the  only  resem- 
blance is  in  their  stupidity. 

People  not  accustomed  to  the  collection  and  critical 

examination  of  data,  are  liable  to  infer  a  case  under  a 

general  rule  or  principle  from  too  few  and  insuflficient 

„  „    ,  instances.     Franklin,  Lincoln,  Garfield,  who 

FaUacies.  '  '  ' 

Too  Few  were  self-made  men,  rose  to  eminence  in 
xamp  es.  p^j^j^^^  jjfg .  [^  [^^  therefore,  inferred  that  other 
self-made  men  will  be  more  likely  to  rise  than  if  they 
had  been  blessed  with  greater  advantages  in  youth. 
It  is  inferred  from  a  few  instances  that  a  certain  rich 
man  is  heartless,  that  a  certain  capitalist  has  no  regard 
for  labor,  that  a  bank  cashier  is  a  thief,  that  a  squint-eyed 
man  is  morally  crooked.  In  all  these  cases  the  careful 
examination  of  many  instances  would  show  that  the  con- 
clusion might  be  false.  Those  making  such  inferences 
have  either  known  only  self-made  men  who  became 
famous,  or  have  ignored  the  other  class;  they  have  known 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  155 

only  miserly  rich  men  and  hard-hearted  employers,  their 
own  bank  cashier,  and  a  few  men  "•  with  a  cast  in  the 
eye."i 

No  fallacy  is  more  common  than  reasoning  from  one 
particular  to  another  particular  without  the  requisite  pre- 
caution as  to  the  essential  resemblances  and  differences. 
Caution  against  this  fallacy  is  the  moral  of 
one  of  the  fables  of  Camerarius.  Two  don-  ^^f^^^ces. 
keys  were  traveling  in  the  same  caravan,  the 
one  laden  with  salt,  the  other  with  hay.  The  one  laden 
with  salt  stumbled  in  crossing  a  stream  ;  the  salt  melted 
and  his  burden  was  lightened.  When  they  came  to  an- 
other stream,  the  donkey  that  was  laden  with  hay,  dipped 
his  panniers  into  the  water,  expecting  a  similiar  re- 
sult." ^  No  inference  to  an  unobserved  case  is  sound 
unless  it  is  of  a  like  kind  with  the  observed  case  or 
cases  on  which  it  is  founded;  that,  is  unless  we  are 
entitled  to  make  a  general  proposition.  The  donkey 
might  have  reasoned,  "Salt  dipped  in  water  is  light- 
ened; sugar  dipped  in  water  is  lightened;  ani/thinff 
dipped  in  water  is  lightened;  I  will  dip  this  bale  of 
hay  in  water." 

To  give  the  example  force  as  an  argument,  it  is  not 
sufficient  that  the  resemblances  be  real,  sufficient,  and 
in  essential  particulars ;  but  there  must  be  no  such  dif- 
ferences in  the  cases  as  will  destroy  the  prob-  ^ 

'^  ^  Cases  Not 

ability  from  resemblance.      It  was  calculated  Parallel  in 
that   great   profits    would   accrue    from    the  *     ^^^^^  ^' 
Panama  Canal,  because  the   Suez   Canal   had    yielded 
great  profits.     But  though  these  would  both  be  canals^ 

1  See  Fallacies  of  Induction,  Page  118. 

2  Minto,  Inductive  Logic,  266. 


156  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

and  might  be  under  the  same  management,  the  dif- 
ference in  difficulty  of  construction,  in  situation  rela- 
tive to  great  commercial  routes,  and  in  many  other 
particulars,  would  destroy  the  force  of  the  argument. 
It  is  argued  that  the  prohibitory  liquor  law  has  been 
effective  in  Maine,  and  therefore  will  be  effective  else- 
where. On  this  argument  a  recent  writer  in  The  Na- 
tion says :  — 

"  Any  impartial  observer  would,  I  think,  have  to  admit  that 
the  success  of  the  prohibitory  law  in  this  State,  although  signi- 
ficantly qualified,  is,  after  all  considerable.  But  I  cannot  think 
that  the  experience  of  Maine  affords  any  warrant  for  the  belief 
that  a  similar  system  would  have  equal  or  greater  success  else- 
where. I  am,  of  course,  aware  that  that  kind  of  argument  is 
common  with  professional  advocates  of  prohibition  ;  neverthe- 
less, the  position  seems  to  me  to  be  at  once  dangerous  and  un- 
sound. The  prohibitory  law  has  been  as  successful  as  it  has  in 
Maine,  not  because  of  anything  especially  good  either  in  the 
general  principle  or  in  this  particular  application  of  it,  but  very 
largely  because  of  certain  social  conditions  peculiar  to  the  State. 
Maine  is  a  thinly  settled  State,  with  a  population  chiefly  en- 
gaged in  agriculture,  lumbering  and  the  fisheries.  Its  cities 
have  aU  less  than  40,000  inhabitants,  and  all  but  one  have  less 
than  25,000  ;  there  is  no  massing  of  population,  and  no  over- 
whelming foreign  element.  The  great  manufacturing  indus- 
tries of  New  England  are  not  largely  represented  in  Maine. 
It  is  apparent  that  conditions  such  as  these  greatly  simplify  all 
problems  of  law  and  order,  and  give  any  kind  of  sumptuary 
legislation  a  favorable  field.  Moreover,  even  rigid  enforce- 
ment of  the  prohibitory  law  would  not  necessarily  prevent 
any  individual  from  obtaining  liquors  for  his  own  use,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  adjoining  States,  not  under  the  prohibitory 
rdgime,  at  once  become  sources  of  supply.  If  Maine  could 
not  obtain  an  abundant  supply  of  liquors  from  Boston  or  some 
other  convenient  point,  the  enforcement  of  the  prohibitory  law 
here  would  be  very  much  less  efficient  than  it  is  now.    That  is 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  157 

to  SR}^,  even  with  the  aid  of  favorable  local  conditions  the  suc- 
cess of  prohibition  in  one  State  depends  very  greatly  upon  the 
absence  of  prohibition  in  neighboring  States  ;  and  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  in  this  country  the  system  has  always 
been  tried  under  these  conditions.  To  insist  upon  the  univer- 
sal practicability  of  prohibition  as  a  method  of  regulating  the 
liquor  traffic,  pointing  meanwhile  to  the  operation  of  4he  law 
in  Maine  as  an  illustration  of  '  how  it  works,'  is  both  idle  and 
misleading  unless  these  vital  qualifications  be  also  made." 

Not  infrequently,  in  political  discussions,  an  instance 
is  brought  forward  as  proof,  when,  in  fact,  the  differences 
are  so  numerous  and  radical  that  the  instance  is  not  an 
example  at  all :  — 

"  It  is  stated  that  the  Bank  of  France  maintains  the  parity 
of  gold  and  silver  in  that  country  by  paying  out  both  metals 
indiscriminately  and  at  its  own  option.  From  this  it  is  argued 
that  we  could  do  the  same  if  the  treasury  would  exercise  the 
same  option.  The  fact  is,  that  parity  between  the  silver  five- 
franc  pieces  and  the  gold  coins  has  been  maintained  by  stop- 
ping the  coinage  of  silver  and  restricting  the  amount  of  five- 
franc  pieces  to  the  quantity  in  circulation  twenty  years  ago. 
This  was  an  act  of  the  Government,  not  of  the  Bank  of  France, 
which  is  a  private  institution  owned  and  managed  exclusively 
by  the  shareholders.  It  is  true  that  the  Bank  does  exercise 
an  option  in  paying  out  silver  or  gold  when  its  notes  are  pre- 
sented for  redemption.  It  makes  a  profit  by  doing  so.  The 
operation  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  maintaining  the 
parity  of  the  two  metals.  In  fact  it  produces  the  only  disparity 
which  exists  there."  ' 

"  Jefferson  drafted  the  Declaration  of  Independence  at  the 
age  of  thirty-three  ;  John  Jay  drew  up  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  New  York  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  ;  Hamilton  or- 
ganized the  national  financial  system  before  he  was  thirty- 
four  ;  Clay  was  a  distinguished  Senator  at  thirty  ;  Calhoun 
was  Secretary  of  War  at  thirty-six  ;   Sheridan  and  McClellau 

1  The  nation. 


158  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

were  generals  at  thirty-five  ;  Xapoleon  was  the  greatest  man 
of  Continental  Europe  at  thirty-five  ;  and  long  before  that  age 
William  II.  was  emperor  of  the  mightiest  nation  of  Europe  ; 
and  many  other  young  men  have  placed  indelible  marks  on  the 
pages  of  the  world's  history.  Hence  it  is  inferred  that  the  age 
—  thirty-six  years  —  of  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  of  the 
United  States  is  no  objection  to  his  election,  the  principle 
being  that  men  of  genius  reach  the  full  development  of  their 
intellectual  power  and  the  control  of  their  abilities  before  the 
age  of  thirty-six.  These  examples  multiplied  many  times  over 
have  little  force  as  arguments  with  the  majority  of  intelligent 
electors.  Granting  close  resemblance  in  ability  and  genius, 
there  are  so  many  differences  in  essential  points,  —  political 
conditions,  temper  of  the  people,  ends  to  attain,  variety  and 
extent  of  responsibilities,  number  and  importance  of  interests 
to  harmonize,  —  that  many  conservative  people  would  not  con- 
sider the  cases  parallel."  ^ 

Analogy,  also  called  parity  of  reasoning,  is  a  kind  of 

argument  from  example.     It  has  been  variously  defined. 

The  resemblance  from  which  the  inference  is  made,  is 

held  by  Whately  to  be  rather  of  relations  than 
Analogy.  ^      ,  .  -,-   •  4       i  i     • 

Different  of  things  or  qualities.  "Analogy  being  a 
Definitions.  4  resemblance  of  ratios,'  that  should  strictly 
be  called  an  argument  from  analogy,  in  which  the  two 
things  (viz.  the  one  from  which,  and  the  one  to  which,  we 
argue)  are  not,  necessarily,  themselves  alike,  but  stand 
in  similar  relations  to  some  other  tilings ;  or,  in  other 
words,  that  the  common  genus  which  they  both  fall 
under,  consists  in  a  relation.  Thus  an  egg  and  a  seed 
are  not  in  themselves  alike,  but  bear  a  like  relation,  to 
the  parent  bird  and  to  her  future  nestling,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  the  old  and  the  young  plant  on  the  other,  re- 
spectively ;  this  relation  being  the  genus  which  both  fall 
1  iVeio  York  World. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  159 

under :  and  many  arguments  might  be  drawn  from  this 
analog}^"  ^ 

No  distinction  is  made  by  Professor  Hart^  between 
example  and  analogy.     "  We  may  regard  analogy  as  a 
non-scientific  practical  induction-deduction,  or  inferring 
from  resemblances.     A  sells  to  B  on  credit; 
the  ground  of  his  confidence  is,  perhaps,  the  DlfSitions 
circumstance    that  B  has  already  paid  him 
several  times  for  similar  articles.     From  this  he  infers 
a  permanent  willingness  and  ability  in  B,  i.  e.,  a  gen- 
eral principle  applicable   to  this  particular  instance." 
Most  of  the   illustrations  of  argument  from  example 
already  cited,  are  of  this  kind. 

Professor  Hill^  makes  analogy  an  argument  from 
example  in  which  the  principle  is  only  implied :  "  In 
the  class  called  argument  from  parallel  cases  or  from 
analogy,  the  examples  cited  are  also  instances  of  the 
operation  of  a  general  principle,  but  that  principle  is 
usually  not  expressed ;  the  reasoner  seems  to  leap  from 
one  case  to  another."  If  Patrick  Henry  had  said,  "  He 
who  rules  by  violence,  may  expect  to  meet  death  by 
violence :  Caesar  had  his  Brutus,  Charles  I.,  his  Crom- 
well," he  would,  according  to  this  distinction,  have  em- 
ployed an  argument  from  example.  Omitting  the  prin- 
ciple illustrated,  and  going  from  the  cited  cases  to  the 
case  in  question,  George  III.,  he  argued  from  analogy. 

Again,*  the  argument  from  analogy  is  made  to  take 
"  relations  that  exist  in  one  sphere  of  life  or  experience, 
as  indications  of  what  may  be  regarded  as  true  of 
another  sphere  whose  relations  are  similar."     This  is 

1  Rhetoric,  115.  2  j.  m.  Hart,  English  Composition,  116. 

3  Principles  of  Rhetoric,  361.  ^  Genuug,  Practical  Rhetoric,  422. 


160  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

illustrated  by  Cardinal  Newman's  argument  from  physi- 
cal health  that  mental  culture  is  a  good  in  itself,  aside 
from  its  practical  use. 

Some  of  Lincohi's  best  arguments  in  answer  to  the  criti- 
cisms made  upon  his  administration  were  of  this  kind.  The 
worst  critics  were  those  who  complained  about  the  war's 
not  moving  fast  enough.  To  a  party  of  such  men  from  the 
West,  he  once  said  :  — 

"  Gentlemen,  I  want  you  to  suppose  a  case  for  a  moment. 
Suppose  that  all  the  property  you  were  worth  was  in  gold,  and 
you  had  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Blondin,  the  famous  rope-walker, 
to  carry  across  the  Niagara  Falls  on  a  tight  rope.  Would  j^ou 
shake  the  rope  while  he  was  passing  over  it,  or  keep  shouting 
to  him,  '  Blondin,  stoop  a  little  more  !  Go  a  little  faster  ! ' 
No,  I  am  sure  you  would  not.  You  would  hold  your  breath  as 
well  as  your  tongue,  and  keep  your  hand  off  until  he  was  safely 
over.  Now,  the  government  is  in  the  same  situation.  It  is 
carrying  an  immense  weight  across  a  stormy  ocean.  Untold 
treasures  are  in  its  hands.  It  is  doing  the  best  it  can.  Don't 
badger  it !     Just  keep  still,  and  it  will  get  you  safely  over." 

Huxley  argues  from  analogy  in  this  sense,  to  support 
the  proposition  that  when  one  is  ill,  the  best  thing  to 
do  is  to  call  a  physician :  — 

<'  People  who  wear  watches  know  nothing  about  watch-mak- 
ing. A  watch  goes  wTong  and  it  stops  ;  you  see  the  owner 
giving  it  a  shake,  or,  if  he  is  very  bold,  he  opens  the  case  and 
gives  the  balance-wheel  a  push.  That  is  empirical  practice, 
and  you  know  what  are  the  results  upon  the  watch.  I  should 
think  you  can  divine  what  are  the  results  of  analogous  opera- 
tions upon  the  human  body.  And  because  men  of  sense  very 
soon  found  that  such  were  the  effects  of  meddling  with  very 
complicated  machinery  they  did  not  understand,  I  suppose  the 
first  thing,  as  being  the  easiest,  was  to  study  the  nature  of 
the  works  of  the  human  watch,  and  the  next  thing  was  to  study 
the  way  the  parts  worked  together,  and  the  way  the  watch 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  161 

worked.  Thus,  by  degrees,  we  have  had  growing  up  our  body 
of  anatomists,  or  knowers  of  the  construction  of  the  human 
watch,  and  our  physiologists,  who  know  how  the  machine 
works.  And  just  as  any  sensible  man  who  has  a  valuable 
watch,  does  not  meddle  with  it  himself,  but  goes  to  someone 
who  has  studied  watch-making  and  knows  what  the  effect  of 
doing  this  or  that  may  be  ;  so  I  suppose  the  man  who,  having 
charge  of  that  valuable  machine,  his  own  body,  wants  to  have 
it  kept  in  good  order,  comes  to  a  professor  of  the  medical  art, 
for  the  purpose  of  having  it  set  right,  believing  that  by  deduc- 
tion from  the  facts  of  structure  and  from  the  facts  of  function 
the  phj'sician  will  divine  what  may  be  the  matter  with  his 
bodily  watch  at  that  particular  time,  and  what  may  be  the 
best  means  of  setting  it  right."  ^ 

From    these  definitions   and   illustrations,  it   seems 
agreed  that  analogy  is  a  sort  of  imperfect  induction,  an 
inference    from  particular  or   individual  in- 
stances to  a  coordinate  particular   instance. 
Professor  Minto  makes  this  clear,  and  extends  analogy 
beyond  its  older  meaning  ^ :  — 

"  In  a  strict  logical  sense,  however,  as  defined  by  Mill, 
and  sanctioned  by  the  previous  usage  of  Butler  and  Kant, 
analogy  means  more  than  a  resemblance  of  relations.  It 
means  a  preponderating  resemblance  between  two  things  such 
as  to  warrant  us  in  inferring  that  the  resemblance  extends 
further.  This  is  a  species  of  argument  distinct  from  the  ex- 
tension of  an  empirical  law.  In  the  extension  of  an  empirical 
law,  the  ground  of  inference  is  a  coincidence  frequently  re- 
peated within  our  experience,  and  the  inference  is  that  it  has 
occurred  or  will  occur  beyond  that  experience  :  in  the  argu- 
ment from  analogy,  the  ground  of  inference  is  the  resemblance 
between  two  individual  objects  or  kinds  of  objects  in  a  certain 
number  of  points,  and  the  inference  is  that  they  resemble  one 
another  in  some  other  point,  known  to  belong  to  the  one,  but 

1  Science  and  Education  Essays,  311. 
'^  Logic,  Inductive  and  Deductive,  368. 


162  THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  ARGUMENTATION. 

not  known  to  belong  to  the  other.  '  Two  things  go  together 
in  many  cases,  therefore  in  all,  including  this  one,'  is  the  ar- 
gument in  extending  a  generalization  :  '  Two  things  agree  in 
many  respects,  therefore  in  this  other,'  is  the  argument  from 
analogy. 

"  The  example  given  by  Keid  in  his  Intellectual  Poicers  has 
became  the  standard  illustration  of  the  peculiar  argument  from 
analogy. 

"  '  We  may  observe  a  very  great  similitude  between  this  earth 
which  we  inhabit,  and  the  other  planets,  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mars, 
Venus  and  Mercury.  They  all  revolve  round  the  sun,  as  the 
earth  does,  although  at  different  distances  and  in  different 
periods.  They  borrow  all  their  light  from  the  sun,  as  the  earth 
does.  Several  of  them  are  known  to  revolve  round  their  axis 
like  the  earth,  and  by  that  means  have  like  succession  of  day 
and  night.  Some  of  them  have  moons  that  serve  to  give  them 
light  in  the  absence  of  the  sun,  as  our  moon  does  to  us.  They 
are  all,  in  their  motions,  subject  to  the  same  law  of  gravitation 
as  the  earth  is.  From  all  this  similitude  it  is  not  unreasonable 
to  think  that  these  planets  may,  like  our  earth,  be  the  habita- 
tion of  various  orders  of  living  creatures.  There  is  some  proba- 
bility in  this  conclusion  from  analogy.'  " 

The  difference  between  analogy  and  induction  seems  to  be 

one  of  degree.      Analogy  agrees  with  induction  in  this,  that 

they  both  argue  that  a  thing  known  to  resemble  another  in 

certain  circumstances,  will  resemble  it  in  another 

T  ^  £^  ^^  circumstance.  From  the  fact  that  there  are  nu- 
Inaactlon. 

merous  resemblances  between  the  earth  and  the 
other  planets,  it  might  be  inferred  that  the  latter  are  inhabited, 
because  the  former  is.  This  non-assignable  and  generally 
small  increase  of  probability,  beyond  what  would  otherwise 
exist,  is  all  the  evidence  which  a  conclusion  can  derive  from 
analogy.  Now  if  the  existence  of  human  beings  could  be 
proved  to  depend  upon  one  or  more  of  these  points  of  resem- 
blance, to  be  the  effect  of  this  or  that  cause  which  is  in  operation 
on  the  other  planets,  as  well  as  on  the  earth  ;  or  if  it  could  be 
proved  that  the  presence  of  human  beings  is  the  effect  of  some 
circumstance  not  common  to  the  other  planets  and  the  earth, 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  163 

the  argument  drawn  from  such  facts  of  causation  would  in  each 
case  be  of  an  inductive  character.' 

A  distinction  is  to  be  made  between  analogies  which 
are  merely  illustrative  or  explanatory  and  such  as  are 
argumentative.  George  Eliot  makes  Mr.  Snell,  the 
plain,  hard-headed  landlord  in  Silas  Marner,'^  Argumenta- 
attempt  to  show  by  analogy  how  it  is  that  ^hw^ative 
some  people  cannot  see  a  ghost :  —  Analogies. 

"  There's  folks,  i'  my  opinion,  they  can't  see  ghos'es,  not  if 
they  stood  as  plain  as  a  pike-staff  before  'em.  And  there's 
reason  i'  that.  For  there's  my  wife,  now,  can't  smell,  not  if 
she'd  the  strongest  o'  cheese  under  her  nose.  I  never  see'd  a 
ghost  myself  ;  but  then  I  says  to  myself,  '  Very  like  I  haven't 
got  the  smell  for  'em.'  I  mean,  putting  a  ghost  for  a  smell, 
or  else  contrariways.  And  so  I'm  for  holding  with  both  sides; 
for,  as  I  say,  the  truth  lies  between  'em.  And  if  Dowlas  was 
to  go  and  stand  and  say  he'd  never  seen  a  wink  o'  Cliff's  Holi- 
day all  the  night  through,  I'd  back  him  ;  and  if  anybody  said 
as  Cliff's  Holiday  was  certain  sure  for  all  that,  I'd  back  him 
too.     For  the  smell's  what  I  go  by. 

"  The  landlord's  analogical  argument  was  not  well  received 
by  the  farrier." 

This  may  help  the  dull  perception  of  some  of  the 
guests  of  the  "  Rainbow,"  but  it  proves  nothing. 

Between  the  safe  direction  of  a  ship  and  the  wise 
direction  of  public  affairs,  there  is  an  analogy  having 
force  as  an  argument.  In  both  cases  officers  are  to  be 
chosen  for  their  ability,  trustworthiness  and 
special  skill.  Whatever  may  be  true  of  its  anrsw^.^^* 
occasion,  Mr.  T.  B.  Reed's  analogy,  in  a  para- 
graph from  a  campaign  speech,^  is  sound  and  founded  in 
experience :  — 

"  Two  months  ago  no  man  of  any  standing  would  have  risked 
1  See  Mill,  Logic,  553.  2  Part  I.,  Chap.  vi.  ^  i896. 


164  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

his  reputation  as  a  prophet  by  hinting  the  slightest  doubt  of 
Republican  success.  Four  years  of  actual  trial  of.  the  opposi- 
tion, under  the  guidance  of  its  best  and  twice-trusted  leader, 
has  left  no  shadow  of  question  as  to  public  dut}' . 

"  Human  experience  in  every  walk  of  life  teaches  us  that 
those  who  have  blundered  will  blunder  again,  and  that  the 
wisest  course  is  not  to  employ  a  ship  captain  who  has  just 
emerged  from  his  last  shijDwreck,  but  the  sailor  who  has  never 
lost  a  ship,  a  passenger  or  a  letter,  but  has  held  safe  through 
every  sea.  He  may  have  lost  masts  and  sails  and  even  been 
rudderless  for  hours,  but  if  he  has  every  time  come  safe  to 
shore,  better  have  him  than  all  the  landsmen  who  are  forever 
shouting  what  they  can  do,  and  never  dare  to  tell  of  what  they 
have  done.  Boasters  are  worth  nothing.  Deeds  are  facts  and 
are  forever  and  ever.  Talk  dies  in  the  empty  air.  Better  a 
pound  of  performance  than  a  shipload  of  language.  The  cause 
of  all  our  troubles  is  the  rapid  deterioration  of  our  public  men. 
When  a  ship  runs  on  a  mudbank  in  broad  daylight,  with  the 
charts  unrolled  and  the  instruments  of  navigation  in  good 
order,  the  cause  is  not  the  ship  herself,  nor  the  passengers, 
nor  the  mudbank,  nor  the  daylight,  but  the  captain  or  the 
pilot." 

Many  homely  proverbs  owe  their  force  to  the  analogy 

lurking  in  them:  "Don't  count  your  chickens  before 

they  are  hatched ;  "  "  Don't  swap  horses  while  fording  a 

stream  ;  "  "  He  who  by  the  plow  would  thrive, 

Analogy  in  i^i^iself  must  either  hold  or  drive  ;  "  '•  Don't 
Proveros. 

pay  too  dear  for  the  whistle ;  "  "  You  can't 

eat  your  cake  and  have  it  too."     "  The  lucky  guesses  of 

what  is  known  as  natural  sagacity,  are  often  analogical. 

A  man  of  wide  experience  in  any  matter,  such  as  the 

weather  or  the  conduct  of  men  in  war,  in  business,  or 

in  politics,  may  conclude  as  to  the  case  in  hand,  from 

some  previous  case  that  bears  a  general  resemblance  to 

it;   and  very  often  his  conclusions   may  be  perfectly 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  165 

sound  though  he  has  not  made  a  numerical  estimate  of 
the  data."  i 

Webster  argues  from  the  analogy  between  the  blood 
in  the  human  system  and  money  in  circulation,  to  show 
the  evils  of  a  disordered  finance  :  — 

"  When  the  fluid  in  the  human  system,  indispensable  to  hfe, 
becomes  disordered,  corrupted  or  obstructed  in  the 
circulation,  not  the  head,  nor  the  heart  alone  suf-   jj^j^gy 
fers  ;  but  the  whole  body,  —  head,  heart  and  hand, 
all  the  members,  and  all  the  extremities,  —  is  affected  with 
debility,  paralysis,  numbness  and  death.    The  analogy  between 
the  human  system  and  the  social  and  political  system  is  com- 
plete ;  and  what  the  life  blood  is  to  the  former,  circulation, 
money,  currency,  is  to  the  latter  ;  and  if  that  be  disordered  or 
corrupted,  paralysis  must  fall  on  the  system."  ^ 

Colonel  Ingersoll  argues  from  analogy  to  prove  that 
the  Pentateuch  could  not  have  been  written  by  Moses  : 

"In  the  thirtieth  chapter  of  Exodus  we  are  told  that  the 
people,  when  numbered,  must  give  each  one  a  half 
shekel  after  the  shekel  of  the  sanctuary.     At  that   q^^q^^ 
time  no  such  money  existed,  and  consequently  the 
account  could  not  by  any  possibility  have  been  written  until 
after  there  was  a  shekel  of  the  sanctuary,  and  there  was  no 
such  thing  until  long  after  the  death  of  Moses.     If  we  should 
read  that  Csesar  paid  his  troops  in  pounds,  shillings  and  pence, 
we  would  certainly  know  that  the  account  was  not  written  by 
Csesar,  nor  in  his  time  ;  but  we  would  know  that  it  was  written 
after  the  English  had  given  these  names  to  certain  coins."  ^ 

"  The  notion  that  epidemic  diseases  may  be  due  to  germs 
which  float   in   the   atmosphere,  enter   the    bod}^.   Diseases  and 
and  produce  disturbance  by  the  development  with-   Vegetable 
in   the   body  of  parasitic  life,  is  founded  on  the   ^^®* 
perfect  parallelism  of  the  phenomena   of   contagious  diseases 
with  those  of  life.     As  a  planted  acorn  gives  birth  to  an  oak 

1  Minto,  Logic  Inductive  and  Deductive,  372. 

2  Speech  at  Saratoga.  ^  Sonxe  Mistakes  of  Moses,  111. 


166  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

competent  to  produce  a  whole  crop  of  acorns,  each  gifted  with 
the  power  of  reproducing  its  parent  tree  ;  and  as  thus  from  a 
single  seeding  a  whole  forest  may  spring  ;  so,  it  is  contended, 
these  epidemic  diseases  literally  plant  their  seeds,  grow  and 
shake  abroad  new  germs,  which  meeting  in  the  human  body 
their  proper  food  and  temperature,  finally  take  possession  of 
whole  populations.  There  is  nothing  to  my  knowledge  in  pure 
chemistrj'  which  resembles  the  power  of  self-multiplication 
possessed  by  the  matter  which  produces  epidemic  diseases.  If 
you  sow  wheat,  you  do  not  get  barley  ;  if  you  sow  small-pox 
}^ou  do  not  get  scarlet  fever,  but  small-pox  indefinitely  multi- 
plied, and  nothing  else.  The  matter  of  each  contagious  disease 
reproduces  itself  as  rigidly  as  if  it  were  (as  Miss  Nightingale 
puts  it)  dog  or  cat."  ^ 

The  argument  from  analogy,  as  well  as  from  simple 
example,  is  valuable  chiefly  where  the  parallel  condi- 
tions are  broad  and  obvious.     It  adds   clearness   and 
impressiveness  rather   than  probative  force. 

Use  of  j^g  chief  use  is  to  drive  home  those  general 

Analogy.  ,  ,  °  _ 

truths  that  need  verification  less  than  illumi- 
nation and  application.  It  is  employed  in  enforcing 
prudence  in  practical  affairs,  a  policy  in  public  busi- 
ness, rightness  in  morals  and  religion,  and  in  giving 
direction  to  human  conduct.  The  analysis  of  almost 
any  serious  political  speech  will  show  the  argument 
to  turn  upon  the  fact  that  similar  measures  have 
been  profitably  adopted  in  a  sijnilar  condition  of  affairs 
in  the  speaker's  country,  or  in  another  country  similarly 
constituted. 

Analogies  vary  in  force  according  to  the  number  and 
closeness  of  resemblance^  in  relations.  If  these  approach 
identity  the  analogy  is  cogent  as  an  argument.  If  the 
two  cases  are  identical  the  argument  becomes  scientific 

1  Tyndall,  Fragments  of  Science,  132. 


CLASSES    OF   ARGUMENTS.  167 

and  conclusive.     From  a  mere  similarity  of  conditions 
only  a  probability  may  be  inferred,  the  degree  of  proba- 
bility increasing  as  the  conditions  are  more  nearly  iden- 
tical.    ''  To  insure  a  reasonable  degree,  two 
practical  rules  should  be  observed  :  Discover  Force  of 
as  many  points  of  resemblance  as  possible ;     ^  °^^' 
and  examine   closely  the   points   of   difference   to    see 
whether  they  are  accidental,  —  that  is,  not  essential  to 
the  present  question."^ 

False  analogies  arise  from  imagining  a  resemblance 
where  none  exists;  from  mistaking  apparent  resem- 
blances for  real  ones ;  from  treating  accidental  resem- 
blances as  essential;  from  inferring  from  a 
single  resemblance,  too  few  resemblances  or  ^^aioeies 
fanciful  resemblances ;  or  from  ignoring  differ- 
ences in  points  essential  to  the  question.  To  argue  from 
the  evaporation  of  water  and  its  return  as  dew,  to  a  finan- 
cial system,  would  be  imagining  a  resemblance  from  the 
word  "  circulation."  To  argue  from  the  fatal  physical 
effects  of  enlargement  of  the  heart  to  fatal  commercial 
effects  of  the  overgrowth  of  a  metropolis,  is  to  take  an 
apparent  resemblance  for  a  real  one ;  and  it  is  also  to 
ignore  a  difference  in  an  essential  point.  To  argue 
from  paternal  discipline  to  despotic  government  is  to 
mistake  accidental  resemblances  for  essential :  the  ele- 
ment of  absolute  power  in  the  father  is  not  so  essential 
as  his  wisdom,  affection  and  goodness,  which  a  govern- 
ment may  entirely  lack;  besides  the  subjects  of  any 
government,  the  aggregate  people  of  any  nation,  are  not 
children.  This,  also,  is  arguing  from  too  few  resem- 
blances. 

1  J.  M.  Hart,  Handbook  of  English  Composition,  117. 


168  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

In  his  Reply  to  Hayne^  Webster  frequently  points 
out  the  fallacy  in  that  gentleman's  analogies :  — 

"  The  gentleman   had   remarked  on  the  analogy  of  other 
cases,  and  quoted  the  conduct  of  European  govern- 
Hayneand       ments  towards  us,  their  own  subjects  settling  on 
*"'^*  this  continent,  as  in  point,  to  show  that  we  had 

been  hard  and  rigid  in  selling,  when  we  should  have  given  the 
public  lands  to  settlers  without  price.  I  thought  the  honour- 
able member  had  suffered  his  judgment  to  be  betrayed  by  a 
false  analogy  ;  that  he  was  struck  with  an  appearance  of  resem- 
blance where  there  was  no  real  similitude.  I  think  so  still. 
The  first  settlers  of  North  America  were  enterprising  spirits, 
engaged  in  private  adventure,  or  fleeing  from  tyranny  at  home. 
When  they  arrived  here,  they  were  forgotten  by  the  mother 
country,  or  remembered  only  to  be  oppressed.  Carried  away 
again  by  the  appearance  of  analogy,  or  struck  with  the  eloquence 
of  the  passage,  the  honourable  member  yesterday  observed  that 
the  conduct  of  government  towards  the  Western  emigrants,  or 
my  representation  of  it,  brought  to  his  mind  a  celebrated  speech 
in  the  British  Parliament.  It  was.  Sir,  the  speech  of  Colonel 
Barr^.  On  the  question  of  the  Stamp  Act,  or  tea  tax,  I  forget 
which.  Colonel  Barrd  had  heard  a  member  on  the  treasury 
bench  argue  that  the  people  of  the  United  States,  being  British 
colonists,  planted  by  the  maternal  care,  nourished  by  the  in- 
dulgence and  protected  by  the  arms  of  England,  would  not 
grudge  their  mite  to  relieve  the  mother  country  from  the  heavy 
burden  under  which  she  groaned.  The  language  of  Colonel 
Barre,  in  reply  to  this,  was, '  They  planted  by  j'our  care  !  Your 
oppression  planted  them  in  America.  They  fled  from  your 
tyranny,  and  grew  by  your  neglect  of  them.  So  soon  as  you 
began  to  care  for  them,  you  showed  your  care  by  sending  per- 
sons to  spy  out  their  liberties,  misrepresent  their  character, 
prey  upon  them,  and  eat  out  their  substance.' 

"  And  how  does  the  honourable  gentleman  mean  to  maintain 
that  language  like  this  is  applicable  to  the  conduct  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  towards  the  Western  emigrants, 
or  to  any  representation  given  by  me  of  that  conduct  ?     Were 


CLASSES   OF   ARGUMENTS.  169 

the  settlers  in  the  West  driven  thither  by  our  oppression  ? 
Have  they  flourished  only  by  our  neglect  of  them  ?  Has  the 
government  done  nothing  but  prey  upon  them,  and  eat  out 
their  substance  ?  Sir,  this  fervid  eloquence  of  the  British 
speaker,  just,  when  and  where  it  was  uttered,  and  fit  to  remain 
an  exercise  for  the  schools,  is  not  a  little  out  of  place,  when  it 
is  brought  thence  to  be  applied  here  to  the  conduct  of  our  own 
country  towards  her  own  citizens.  From  America  to  England, 
it  may  be  true  ;  from  Americans  to  their  own  government,  it 
would  be  strange  language.  Let  us  leave  it,  to  be  recited  and 
declaimed  by  our  boys  against  a  foreign  nation  ;  not  introduce 
it  here,  to  recite  and  declaim  ourselves,  against  our  own.* 

In  a  true  analogy  resemblances  must  be  preponderant. 
Differences,  incompatibilities  and  unknown  points,  must 
be  counted  against  the  conclusion.  The  chief  source  of 
fallacy  in  arguing  from  analogy  is  ignoring  j^^^^^j^g 
the  number  and  character  of  adverse  points.  Adverse 
Resemblance  sufficient  for  a  rhetorical  simile 
is  made  to  answer  for  an  argument.  The  slight  resem- 
blance between  the  human  body  and  the  body  politic  is 
the  basis  of  an  inference  as  to  the  death  of  republics  or 
the  cure  of  political  ills.  "  I  am  not  quite  of  the  mind 
of  those  speculators,  who  seem  assured,  that  necessarily 
and  by  the  constitution  of  things,  all  States  have  the 
same  periods  of  infancy,  manhood  and  decrepitude, 
that  are  found  in  the  individuals  that  compose  them. 
Parallels  of  this  sort  rather  furnish  similitudes  to  illus- 
trate and  adorn,  than  supply  analogies  from  whence  to 
reason.  The  objects  which  are  attempted  to  be  forced 
into  an  analogy,  are  not  found  in  the  same  classes  of 
existence.  Individuals  are  physical  beings  subject  to 
laws,  universal  and  invariable.     The   immediate   cause 

1  Great  Speeches,  236. 


170         THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

acting  in  these  laws  may  be  obscure  ;  the  general  results 
are  subjects  of  certain  calculation.  Commonwealths 
are  not  physical  but  moral  essences.  They  are  the  ar- 
bitrary productions  of  the  human  mind.  There  is  not 
in  the  physical  order  any  distinct  cause  by  which  any  of 
those  fabrics  must  necessarily  grow,  flourish  or  decay."  ^ 

"  Sound  judgment  and  vigilant  caution  are  nowhere  more 
called  for,"  says  "VVhately,  "  than  in  observing  what  differ- 
ences do,  and  what  do  not,  multiplj^  the  analogy  between 
cases.  A  seemingly  small  circumstance  will  often  destroy  the 
analogy,  while  another  difference,  important  in  itself,  may  not 
weaken  it.  Many  are  misled  by  not  estimating  aright  the  de- 
gree and  the  kind  of  difference  between  the  cases.  It  would 
be  admitted  that  a  great  and  permanent  diminution  in  the 
quantity  of  some  useful  commodity,  such  as  corn,  or  coal,  or 
iron,  throughout  the  world,  would  be  a  serious  and  lasting 
loss  ;  and  again,  that  if  the  fields  and  coal-mines  yielded  regu- 
larly double  quantities,  with  the  same  labor,  we  should  be  so 
much  the  richer  ;  hence  it  might  be  inferred,  that  if  the  quan- 
tity of  gold  and  silver  in  the  world  were  diminished  one-half, 
or  were  doubled,  like  results  would  follow  ;  the  utility  of  these 
metals,  for  the  purposes  of  coin,  being  very  great.  Xow  there 
are  many  points  of  resemblance,  and  many  of  difference,  be- 
tween the  precious  metals  on  the  one  hand,  and  corn,  coal,  etc., 
on  the  other  ;  but  the  important  circumstance  to  the  supposed 
argument,  is,  that  the  utility  of  gold  and  silver  (as  coin,  which 
is  far  the  chief)  depends  on  their  value,  which  is  regulated  by 
their  scarcity  ;  or,  rather,  to  speak  strictly,  by  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  them  ;  whereas,  if  corn  and  coal  were  ten  times  more 
abundant  (i.e.  more  easily  obtained),  a  bushel  of  either  would 
still  be  as  useful  as  now.  But  if  it  were  twice  as  easy  to 
procure  gold  as  it  is,  a  sovereign  would  be  twice  as  large  ;  if 
only  half  as  easy,  it  would  be  of  the  size  of  a  half-sovereign : 
and  this  (besides  the  trifling  circumstance  of  the  cheapness  or 
dearness   of  gold   ornaments)   would   be    all    the    difference. 

1  Burke,  Regicide  Peace,  4. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  171 

The  analogy,  therefore,  fails  in  the  point  essential  to  the  argu- 
ment." ' 

There  would  certainly  be  an  ignoring  of  differences 
between  cases,  should  one  argue  from  the  performances 
once  prohibited  as  improper  for  the  Sabbath,  to  a  clos- 
ing of  public  libraries  on  Sunday :  — 

"  Kest  from  bodily  labor,  in  the  strictest  sense,  and  a  day 
devoted  to  purely  religious  exercises,  is  the  ideal  Sabbath  day 
of  the  Jew,  the  Puritan,  and  of  a  large  body  of  Protestant 
Christians  of  our  time.  An  investigation  of  our  early  State 
laws  shows  legislation  on  the  subject  very  nearly  uniform  in 
its  purpose,  in  its  prohibitions  and  penalties.  Ordinary  work, 
business,  travel,  recreation,  fishing,  hunting,  visiting,  riding, 
driving  cattle,  walking  in  the  fields,  were  prohibited.  In  like 
manner  visiting  the  open  public  library,  this  being  either  for 
the  purpose  of  work  or  recreation,  should  be  forbidden." 

Much  more  logical  would  be  the  following ;  — 
"  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the  Sabbath. 
It  was  made  for  the  good  of  the  whole  race,  not  of  the  favored 
few.  This  involves  physical  rest  and  spiritual  opportunity, 
but  is  not  confined  to  these.  It  provides  for  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  entire  man,  —  phjsical,  mental,  social, 
aesthetic,  moral  and  spiritual.  What  the  church,  the  Sab- 
bath school  and  home  reading,  are  to  the  favored  ones,  the 
public  library  with  its  books,  its  pictures,  its  companionship 
its  warmth  and  light  and  cleanliness,  is  to  that  multitude  ol 
men  and  boys  without  homes,  to  whom  Sunday  is  rather  a  day 
of  temptation  than  a  day  of  rest."  ^ 

"  The  very  common  fault  (overrating  the  probative  force  of 
analogies),  is  sometimes  supposed  to  be  particularly 
incident  to  persons  distinguished  for  their  imagina-  ^^^^ 
tion.    But  in  reality  it  is  the  characteristic  intellec- 
tual vice  of  those  whose  imaginations  are  barren,  either  from 
want  of  exercise,  natural  defect,  or  the  narrowness  of  their 

1  Bhetoric,  118. 

2  See  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Education,  1892-93,  773. 


172  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

range  of  ideas.  To  such  minds  objects  present  themselves 
clothed  in  but  few  properties  ;  and  as,  therefore,  few  analogies 
between  one  object  and  another  occur  to  them,  they  almost  in- 
variably overrate  the  degree  of  importance  of  those  few,  while 
one  whose  fancy  takes  a  wider  range,  perceives  and  remembers 
so  many  analogies  tending  to  conflicting  conclusions,  that  he  is 
much  less  likely  to  lay  undue  stress  on  any  of  them."  ' 

George  Eliot  shows  how,  "by  changing  the  meta- 
phor," the  weakness  of  fanciful  analogies  becomes 
apparent :  — 

*'  Mr.  Stelling  concluded  that  Tom's  brain,  being  peculiarly 
impervious  to  etymology  and  demonstrations,  was  peculiarly  in 
need  of  being  ploughed  and  harrowed  by  these  patent  imple- 
ments :  it  was  his  favorite  metaphor,  that  the  classics  and 
geometry  constituted  that  culture  of  the  mind  which  prepared 
it  for  the  reception  of  any  subsequent  crop.  I  say  nothing 
against  Mr.  Stelling's  theory  :  if  we  are  to  have  one  regimen 
for  all  minds,  his  seems  to  me  as  good  as  any  other.  I  only 
know  it  turned  out  as  uncomfortably  for  Tom  Tulliver  as  if  he 
had  been  plied  with  cheese  in  order  to  remedy  a  gastric  weak- 
ness which  prevented  him  from  digesting  it.  It  is  astonishing 
what  a  different  result  one  gets  by  changing  the  metaphor  I 
Once  call  the  brain  an  intellectual  stomach,  and  one's  ingenious 
conception  of  the  classics  and  geometry  as  ploughs  and  harrows 
seems  to  settle  nothing.  But  then  it  is  open  to  some  one  else 
to  follow  great  authorities,  and  call  the  mind  a  sheet  of  white 
paper  or  a  mirror,  in  which  case  one's  knowledge  of  the  diges- 
tive process  becomes  quite  irrelevant.  It  was  doubtless  an  in- 
genious idea  to  call  the  camel  the  ship  of  the  desert,  but  it 
would  hardly  lead  one  far  in  training  that  useful  beast.  Oh, 
Aristotle  !  if  you  had  had  the  advantage  of  being  '  the  freshest 
modern '  instead  of  the  greatest  ancient,  would  you  not  have 
mingled  your  praise  of  metaphorical  speech,  as  a  sign  of  high 
intelligence,  with  a  lamentation  that  intelligence  so  rarely  show^s 
itself  in  speech  without  metaphor,  —  that  we  can  so  seldom  de- 
clare what  a  thing  is,  except  by  saying  it  is  something  else  ?  "  ^ 

1  Mill,  Logic,  554.  ^  ^fm  on  the  Floss,  Book  II.,  Chap.  i. 


CLASSES    OF   ABGUMENTS.  173 

The  argument  from  sign  depends  on  the  association 

of  ideas. ^     One  fact  or  truth  is  accepted  as  a  reason  for 

believing  another.     We  may  argue  from  effect  to  cause, 

from  one  effect  to  another  effect  of  the  same 

Argument 
cause,  from  effect  to  condition,  from  any  cir-  from  sign. 

cumstance  that  Avould  indicate  or  suggest  ^ ""  ^°^* 
another  circumstance.  In  this  class  of  arguments, 
specially  from  conventional  signs,  logical  sequence  may 
coincide  with  chronological,  but  ordinarily  it  is  the 
reverse ;  or  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  may  be 
simultaneous.  Circumstantial  evidence  and  testimony 
have  usually  been  classed  as  arguments  from  sign.  We 
argue  from  sign,  when  on  seeing  smoke,  we  conclude 
there  is  fire ;  when  on  seeing  ice  forming,  we  conclude 
that  the  temperature  is  below  32°  Fahrenheit ;  when 
on  seeing  the  barometer  rapidly  sinking,  we  conclude 
that  there  will  be  a  storm ;  when  on  seeing  a  red  even- 
ing sky,  we  conclude  that  there  will  be  fair  weather 
next  day ;  when  on  seeing  a  flag  hoisted  on  the  court 
house,  we  conclude  that  the  court  is  in  session,  or  seeing 
the  flag  at  half  mast,  we  conclude  that  some  prominent 
citizen  has  died ;  when  on  seeing  a  well-tilled  farm,  with 
fences  and  buildings  in  good  repair,  we  conclude  that 
the  owner  is  industrious,  thrifty  and  prosperous.  We 
argue  from  the  ringing  of  a  church  bell,  that  there  will 
be  a  church  service ;  from  the  signal  service  flags,  that 
the  weather  will  be  fine  or  stormy,  warm  or  cold ;  from 
the  regularity  of  rows  of  corn,  that  some  one  planted  it ; 
from  the  decorations  of  a  town,  that  there  is  a  public 
holiday  ;  from  one's  appearance,  that  his  health  is  good 
or  bad.     In  all  these  cases  we  infer  from  sign. 

1  Page  124. 


174  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

Rosalind  tells  Orlando  the  signs  or  marks  by  which  a 
young  man  is  known  to  be  in  love :  — 

"  A  lean  cheek,  which  you  have  not,  a  blue  eye  and  sunken, 
which  you  have  not,  an  unquestionable  spirit,  which  you  have 
not,  a  beard  neglected,  which  you  have  not;  but 
I  pardon  you  for  that,  for  simply  your  having  in 
beard  is  a  younger  brother's  revenue  ;  then  your  hose  should 
be  ungartered,  your  bonnet  unhanded,  your  sleeves  unbuttoned, 
your  shoe  untied,  and  everything  about  you  demonstrating  a 
careless  desolation  ;  but  you  are  no  such  man  ;  you  are  rather 
point-device  in  your  accoutrements,  as  loving  yourself  than 
seeming  the  lover  of  any  other."  ' 

This  accords  with  Polonius's  inference  as  to  Hamlet's 
condition :  — 

^^ Ophelia.  —  My  lord,  as  I  Avas  seAving  in  my  closet, 

Lord  Hamlet,  Avith  his  doublet  all  unbraced  ; 

Xo  hat  upon  his  head  ;  his  stockings  fouled  ; 

Ungartered  and  doAvn-gyved  to  his  ankle  ; 

Pale  as  his  shirt ;  his  knees  knocking  each  other  ; 

And  with  a  look  so  piteous  in  purport 

As  if  he  had  been  loosed  out  of  hell 

To  speak  of  horrors  — he  comes  before  me. 

Polonius.  —  Mad  for  thy  love  ?  "  ^ 

Huxley  argues  from  sign  to  show  that  what  is  now 
dry  land  was  once  the  bottom  of  the  ocean :  — 

"  We  find  raised  on  the  flanks  of  these  mountains,  elevated 
by  the  forces  of  the  upheaval  Avhich  have  given 
rise  to  them,  masses  of  Cretaceous  rock  which 
formed  the  bottom  of  the  sea  before  these  mountains  existed. 
It  is  therefore  clear  that  the  elevatory  forces  Avhich  gave  rise  to 
the  mountains  operated  subsequently  to  the  Cretaceous  period, 
and  that  the  mountains  themselves  are  made  up  of  the  materials 
deposited  in  the  sea  which  once  occupied  their  place."  ' 

1  As  You  Like  It,  iii.  2.  «  Hamlet,  ii.  2. 

8  American  Addresses,  27. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  175 

Junius  argues  from  sign  (effect)  when  he  takes  the 
temper  and  condition  of  a  people  as  indicating  the 
character  of  the  government :  — 

*'  The  ruin  or  prosperity  of  a  state  depends  so  much  upon 
the  administration  of  its  government,  that,  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  merit  of  a  ministry,  we  need 
only  observe  the  condition  of  the  people.  If  we  see  them 
obedient  to  the  laws,  prosperous  in  their  industry,  united  at 
home,  and  respected  abroad,  we  may  reasonably  presume  that 
their  affairs  are  conducted  by  men  of  experience,  abilities,  and 
virtue.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we  see  a  universal  spirit  of  dis- 
trust and  dissatisfaction,  a  rapid  decay  of  trade,  dissensions  in 
all  parts  of  the  empire,  and  a  total  loss  of  respect  in  the  eyes 
of  foreign  powers,  we  may  pronounce,  without  hesitation,  that 
the  government  of  that  country  is  weak,  distracted  and  cor- 
rupt." ' 

When  a  question  aiises  as  to  the  authorship  of  an 
anonymous  book,  we  usually  argue  from  sign  to  estab- 
lish the  author's  identity.  From  the  circumstances  of 
its  publication  we  have  a  clue  suggested,  and 
form  a  hypothesis.  We  then  carefully  note  AufhorsMp. 
the  diction,  the  structure  of  the  sentences, 
the  character  and  sources  of  the  illustrations,  the  special 
trains  of  thought  which  make  for  or  against  our  hypoth- 
esis. "We  proceed  upon  the  knowledge  that  every 
author  has  characteristic  turns  of  phrase  and  imagery 
and  favorite  veins  of  thought,  and  we  look  out  for  such 
internal  evidence  of  authorship  in  the  work  before  us. 
Special  knowledge  and  acumen  may  enable  us  to  detect 
the  authorship  at  once  from  the  general  resemblance  to 
a  known  work.  But  if  we  would  have  clear  proof,  we 
must  show  that  the  resemblance  extends  to  all  details 
1  First  Letter. 


176  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENT ATIOX. 

of  phrase,  structure  and  imagery.  We  must  show  that 
our  hypothesis  ^  explains  all  the  circumstances ;  that  this 
is  not  the  work  of  an  imitator,  who  may  reproduce  all 
superficial  peculiarities.  Few  can  distinguish,  for  in- 
stance, between  Fenton's  work  and  Pope's,  in  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Odyssey."  ^  Authorship,  however,  can 
seldom  be  established  by  such  signs  alone :  other  cir- 
cumstantial and  external  evidence  must  be  sought  for. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  fact  or  phenomenon  taken 
as  the  sign,  is  in  no  sense  a  cause  of  the  fact,  phenom- 
enon or  circumstance  upon  which  it  helps   to  form  a 

conclusion,  but  only  an  indication  of  it,  a 
?cau^e!         reason  for  our  belief  in  it.     The  basis  of  the 

argument  from  sign  is  experience.  Certain 
phenomena  are  suggested  by  others  through  the  knowl- 
edge which  we  possess  connected  with  them.  The  sign 
does  not  explain  why  the  circumstance  exists,  but  in- 
dicates that  it  does  exist.  "  A  man  is  found  stabbed  to 
the  heart,  and  with  the  fresh  print  of  a  bloody  right 
hand  on  his  right  fore-arm.  "  This  print  is  neither  the 
cause  nor  the  effect  of  a  murder  nor  of  another's  pres- 
ence ;  but  it  is  a  pretty  certain  sign  that  the  man  was 
murdered,  and  a  positive  sign  that  someone  else  with  a 
bloody  hand  was  recently  present.  The  ringing  of  the 
church  bell  is  a  reason  for  believing  that  there  will  be 
religious  service,  and  the  service  is  the  occasion  of  the 
ringing  of  the  bell ;  but  no  cause  is  involved. 

A  south  west  breeze  is  not  an  infallible  sign  of  rain. 
The  maxim,  "  All  signs  fail  in  a  dr}^  time,  "  is  applicable 
to  other  things  than  the  weather.  Impostors  assume 
the  expression  and  demeanor  of  honest  men.     Red  hair 

1  Page  129.  2  Minto,  Logic,  339. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGinVIENTS.  177 

is  not  always  indicative  of  a  hot  temper  nor  blue  eyes 

of  mildness.     The  flag  may  have  fallen  accidentally  to 

half  mast ;  the  church  bell  may  have  been 

rung  as  a  joke ;  the  weather  observer  may 

have  forgotten  to   change   the  signals ;  and  the  farm 

may  have  been  put  in  order,  that  sale  might  be  effected. 

In  many  cases  the  value  of  a  sign  depends  on  the 
reasoner's  power  of  interpretation.  This  is  especially 
true  of  circumstances  used  as  evidence  in  criminal  law 
practice.  "  The  shoes  of  a  suspected  burglar, 
foul  with  the  clay  that  surrounds  the  entered  Jjj^^^^^**" 
dwelling,  betray  his  presence  at  the  scene  of 
the  crime.  The  garments  of  the  dead,  rent  and  torn  by 
weapons,  reveal  the  means  by  which  life  was  destroyed. 
The  wrappings  of  a  lost  package,  found  in  the  posses- 
sion of  a  carrier,  point  to  the  means  by  which  it  dis- 
appeared. ...  In  the  perception  and  pursuit  of  these 
details  lies  the  supreme  excellence  of  the  detective's  art, 
who  consciously  or  unconsciously  reducing  his  investiga- 
tions to  a  system  based  on  these  attributes  of  things, 
feels  his  way  gradually,  with  unerring  skill,  from  the 
faint  shadows  of  suspicion  to  the  full  light  of  indisput- 
able truth."  1 

Arguments  from  sign  vary  in  force  according  to  the 
conditions  of  the  case.^     What  is  strange  or  beyond  or- 
dinary experience,  would  require  stronger  evidence  to 
induce  belief   than    what   is    familiar.     We 
should  require  better  evidence  to  convince  us  y^rw  ^^ 
of  the  presence  of  a  sea  serpent  in  the  Great 
Salt  Lake,  diamond  beds  in  Michigan  or  oyster  beds  in 
Kansas,  than  would  convince  us  of  the  discovery  of  new 

1  Robinson,  Forensic  Oratory,  113.  2  page  74. 


178  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATIOX. 

copper  mines  in  Utah  or  gas-wells  in  Ohio.  Simple 
testimony  would  hardly  make  an  Oriental  prince  believe 
that  water  could  be  made  solid,  nor  a  Pawnee  chief 
believe  that  in  parts  of  the  earth  shadows  fall  south- 
ward at  noon.  Arguments  from  sign  —  testimony  or 
circumstantial  evidence  —  that  would  in  our  minds 
fully  convict  of  theft  or  arson  a  man  of  low  birth, 
vicious  surroundings,  depraved  moral  nature,  without 
work  and  without  money,  w^ould  have  very  little  force 
toward  making  us  believe  that  a  young  woman  of 
wealth,  sound  mental  and  moral  culture  and  pure 
associations,  had  committed  theft. 

"  Some  inferences,  from  sign,  are  necessary,  some 
probable,  some  merely  possible.  A  man  is  found 
stabbed  to  the  heart,  with  the  fresh  print  of  a  bloody 
right  hand  on  his  right  forearm.  The  inference  is 
necessary  that   some   other  person   than   himself   was 

present,  and  that  this  person  had  a  bloody  hand 

Under  a  window  which  has  been  burglariously  opened, 
is  seen  a  footprint  with  a  peculiar  mark  across  the  toe. 
The  boot  of  the  accused  corresponds  exactly  both  with 
the  print  and  the  peculiar  mark.  The  inference  of 
guilt  is  probable  but  not  inevitable ;  for  other  boots  may 
bear  the  same  peculiar  mark,  or  some  other  person  than 
the  prisoner  may  have  been  wearing  this  boot,  or  the 
accused  may  have  been  in  this  very  spot  and  still  have 
no  connection  with  the  crime.  ...  A  roll  of  bills  of 
small  denominations  and  amounting  to  a  certain  sum, 
is  stolen  from  a  person  in  a  crowded  hall.  A  roll  of 
bills  of  similar  denominations  and  amount  is  found  on 
a  reputable  person  Avho  stood  near  liim  in  the  throng. 
The  inference  of  guilt  is  possible,  for  the  bills  may  be 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  179 

the  same  bills  and  the  possessor  may  be  the  thief; 
but  it  is  not  even  probable ;  for  any  other  person  in 
the  crowd  had  the  same  opportunity  to  steal ;  and  bills 
of  this  description  are  too  common  to  warrant  a  reason- 
able belief  in  their  identity,  where  no  actual  evidence 
of  their  identity  is  offered.  "^ 

The  magnitude  or  importance  of  the  fact  from 
which  an  inference  is  made,  has  little  to  do  with  its 
force  as  an  argument.     The  force  of  argument  depends 

on  the  closeness  of  connection  between  facts.  , 

Importance 

The  most  trifling  circumstance  may  be  of  of  Fact  as 
supreme  importance  "  as  a  link  in  a  chain  of 
evidence.  "  Two  grains  of  lead  may  be  of  little  conse- 
quence ;  but  when  it  is  known  to  be  exactly  what  a  bul- 
let loses  in  passing  through  a  pane  of  glass,  and  when, 
added  to  the  bullet  found  in  the  head  of  a  victim  shot 
through  a  window,  it  makes  that  bullet  the  exact  weight 
of  bullets  found  on  the  accused  and  fitting  his  gun,  it 
becomes  highly  important  as  evidence.  The  markings 
on  a  bullet  found  in  the  victim's  body,  are  a  small  mat- 
ter ;  but  when  they  are  known  to  correspond  perfectly 
with  the  groovings  of  the  prisoner's  pistol,  and  to  lack 
all  correspondence  with  the  pistol  of  the  victim,  they 
assume  the  highest  importance  on  the  question  whether 
the  victim  met  his  death  by  murder  or  suicide.  Micro- 
scopical differences  in  the  shading  or  the  slant  of  letters 
or  differences  in  the  chemical  composition  of  ink,  have 
been  the  means  of  detecting  forged  signatures.  So  the 
water-mark  of  the  paper  upon  which  a  forged  instrument 
was  written,  has  shown  the  forgery, — this  paper  not  liav- 
ing  been  manufactured  till  after  the  testator's  death. 

1  Robinson,  Forensic  Oratory,  13(j. 


180  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMEXTATION. 

The  most  cogent  argument  from  sign  is  from  effect 

to  cause  or  condition ;  and  if  the  effect  has  but  a  single 

cause  and  the  condition  is  necessary,  the  argument  is 

conclusive.     Where  there  is  smoke,  there  is 
Effect  to 

Cause  or  fire.  Where  there  is  frost,  there  is  low  tem- 
perature. Where  there  is  a  chick,  there  has 
been  an  egg.  Where  there  is  fusion  of  metal,  there  has 
been  heat.  Wherever  life  is  generated,  a  germ  has  been 
deposited.  If,  however,  the  fact  taken  as  a  sign  is  the 
effect  of  any  one  of  several  causes,  or  is  dependent  upon 
some  one  of  several  conditions,  it  has  little  force  as  an 
argument  to  prove  any  one  cause  or  condition.  Ill- 
ness may  be  brought  on  by  exposure,  overwork,  insuffi- 
cient exercise,  unsuitable  food  and  many  other  causes. 
Flourishing  crops  depend,  among  other  things,  on  mois- 
ture and  fertile  soil ;  but  the  moisture  may  be  either 
from  rain  or  irrigation,  and  fertility  may  be  either  nat- 
ural or  artificial.  The  value  of  inference  of  this  kind  is 
measured  by  the  permanence  and  uniformity  of  the  rela- 
tion or  connection  which  exists  between  facts,  and  which 
renders  one  fact  to  some  extent  dependent  on  the  other. 
If  the  relation  is  causal,  or  constant  or  uniform,  the  in- 
ference is  necessary  and  conclusive ;  if  it  is  generally 
present  the  inference  is  highly  probable.  If  exceptions 
are  frequent  probability  decreases.  Where  exceptions 
and  rule  balance  there  is  only  a  possible  inference. 
Skill  in  the  use  of  the  argument  from  sign  depends  on 
a  knowledge  of  the  relation  between  known  facts  and 
what  is  inferred. 

Fallacies  in  sign  argument  are  usually  misinterpreta- 
tions. Fossil  remains  and  ocean  shells  on  the  sides  and 
tops  of  mountains,  have  l)een  taken  as  signs  of  Satan's 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  181 

attempt  to  deceive  mankind.  The  evolutionist  takes 
tliem  as  signs  of  the  earlier  conformation  and  life  of 
the  earth.  In  the  first  case  there  is  no  connection  at 
all  between  known  fact  and  inferred  circum- 
stance ;  the  argument  rests  on  a  purely  arbi- 
trary association  of  whatever  is  mysterious  with  the  work 
of  spirits,  good  or  evil.  In  the  second  case  the  argument 
is  based  on  causal  connection.  Certain  religious  sects 
argue  from  the  frequent  rumors  of  wars  and  from  rail- 
way and  marine  disasters,  that  the  end  of  the  world  is 
approaching.  Other  classes  take  these  rumors  and  dis- 
asters as  signs  of  greed,  injustice  and  corruption  among 
rulers,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  of  undue 
haste  and  consequent  carelessness  in  railway  and  marine 
engineering,  or  of  incompetent  management.  A  case 
of  illness  is  taken  as  a  sign  of  overwork,  when  it  is  the 
effect  of  over-eating.  Hard  times  among  farmers, — 
low  prices  for  farm  products,  —  are  taken  by  political 
speakers  and  writers  of  a  certain  order,  as  a  sign  that 
there  is  not  money  enough  in  the  country.  Others  see 
in  these  low  prices  a  sign  that  the  markets  of  the  world 
are  being  partially  supplied  from  newly  developed  agri- 
cultural regions.  Others,  see  in  the  same  facts  signs  of 
over-production.  All  cannot  be  entirely  right.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  fallacies  arise  in  this  class  of  argu- 
ments by  inferring  where  there  is  no  connection  at  all 
between  the  known  fact  and  that  toward  which  the 
arguments  is  directed,  by  attributing  an  effect  to  a 
wrong  cause,  or  to  a  single  cause  or  condition  when  it 
is  due  to  several,  and  by  overestimating  the  closeness  or 
the  permanence  of  the  connection. ^ 

1  Page  118  et  seq. 


182  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATTOlSr. 

The  force  of  an  argument  from  sign  may  be  modified 
and  even  entirely  destroyed  by  opposing  arguments 
from  antecedent  probability.  The  presence  of  a  man 
siffn  Opposed  alone  near  the  place  where  a  building  had 

byAntece-  "[^gg^  set  on  fire  and  at  about  the  time  the 
dent  Proba- 
bility, crime  was  committed,  would  be  a  sign  point- 
ing to  him  as  the  probable  incendiary.  But  his  previous 
good  character,  his  known  friendship  for  the  owner  of 
the  bui^ned  building,  and  his  interest  in  some  of  its  con- 
tents, would  afford  still  stronger  opposing  arguments 
from  antecedent  probability.  Theft  of  a  heavy  package 
found  on  the  prisoner's  premises,  may  be  successfully 
disproved  by  showing  his  physical  inability  to  carry  it 
away.  The  Jewish  doctors  in  the  synagogue  could 
hardly  believe  the  testimony  of  their  own  senses  when 
Jesus  read  and  expounded  the  Hebrew  Scriptures;  "How 
knoweth  this  man  letters  never  having  learned  ?  "  ^  "  That 
a  British  nobleman  (the  Tichborne  claimant)  well  gifted 
in  all  respects,  and  under  no  known  temptation  to  such 
proceedings,  should  ship  himself  as  a  common  sailor  on 
board  a  foreign  merchant  vessel,  and  pursue  by  choice  a 
life  so  hard  and  toilsome,"  is  a  thing  so  antecedently  im- 
probable that  it  would  require  the  most  positive  and  un- 
equivocal direct  evidence  to  make  it  credible.  A  wit- 
ness may  by  ties  of  blood  or  marriage  be  connected  with 
the  party  in  whose  interests  he  is  called,  or  who  is 
united  with  him  in  some  business  or  religious  enter- 
prise, or  has  shared  with  him  in  the  profits  or  the  bur- 
dens of  some  political  or  criminal  acliievement ;  or  he 
may  in  some  manner  or  degree  be  controlled  by  this  party 
in  property  or  freedom,  or  on  account  of  passed  or  prom- 

1  John  vii.  15, 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  183 

ised  favors  may  have  incurred  obligations  to  him.  Such 
a  witness  labors  under  very  strong  temptation  to  uphold 
and  vindicate  his  associate ;  so  that  an  argument  from 
antecedent  probability  arises  against  his  impartiality  and 
truthfulness  as  a  witness,  much  stronger  than  the  infer 
ence  of  partiality  and  truthfulness  from  his  seeming  re- 
luctance or  unwillingness  to  testify. 

On  the  other  hand,  combinations  may  be  made  with 
arguments  from  antecedent  probability,  sign  and  ex- 
ample or  analogy,  —  an  argument  being  accompanied  by 
one  or  more  of  the  same  class,  or  of  either  or  corrobora- 
both  of  the  other  classes,  so  that  each  argu-  tion  by  other 

"        Classes  of 

ment  is  strengthened,  and  strengthens  every  Arguments, 
other.  Those  who  believe  that  self-made  men  are  the 
strongest  men,  argue  from  antecedent  probability  that 
the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  these  men  in  overcoming 
difficulties  would  develop  strength,  —  shrewdness,  judg- 
ment, wisdom,  courage,  decision.  They  argue  from  sign 
wlien  they  compare  the  actual  achievements  of  such 
men  with  those  of  an  equal  number  of  men  whom  cir- 
cumstances have  helped.  They  argue  from  example 
when  they  point  out  the  acknowledged  superiority  of 
such  men  as  Franklin,  Lincoln  and  Garfield.  They 
argue  from  analogy  when  they  cite  the  hardiness  of  the 
tree  growing  on  the  rocky  and  wind-swept  flanks  of  the 
mountains,  and  the  vigor  of  the  Shetland  pony  exposed 
to  the  rugged  northern  climate,  and  obliged  to  struggle 
for  existence. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  speech  in  defence  of  the 
Kennistons,  Webster  first  argues  from  antecedent  proba- 
bility that  such  a  robbery  as  was  charged  against  them, 
could  not  in  the  circumstances  have  taken  phice  in  the 


184  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

manner  charged.  He  further  argues  from  antecedent 
probability — motive  —  that  Goodrich  might  have  feign- 
ed being  robbed,  and  strengthens  the  former  argument 
by  signs,  Goodrich's  lack  of  interest  in  find- 
MeUiods'^  ing  out  the  perpetrators  of  the  alleged  rob- 
bery, and  his  tardiness  and  reluctance  in 
prosecuting.  He  then  argues  from  sign,  —  absence  of 
any  testimony  but  Goodrich's  own  improbable  and  self- 
contradicting  story,  —  that  the  robbery  is  a  myth.  In 
Webster's  speech  on  The  Constitution  not  a  Compact^  he 
first  answers  Calhoun's  propositions  by  exposition,  argu- 
ments from  sign,  arguments  from  antecedent  probability, 
and  the  reductio  ad  ahsiirdum.  He  then  enforces  the  first 
proposition  of  his  own  doctrine  by  arguments  from  sign, 
drawn  from  the  language  of  the  Constitutioji  itself,  the 
utterances  of  various  conventions  considei'pig  a  change 
from  a  confederation  to  a  constitutional  government, 
and  the  history  of  the  formation  of  the  Constitution. 
The  second  and  succeeding  propositions  are  supported 
by  these  same  kinds  of  arguments,  although  this  part  of 
the  speech  is  mostly  expository. 

The  verification  of  hypotheses,^  which  are  practically 

the  products  of  arguments  from  example  or  imperfect 

induction,  usually  consists  in  reinforcing  an  argument 

from    antecedent    probability   b}'    argument 

Suction  from  sio-n.     Take  the  history  of  the  suction 

Pump.  »  -' 

pump.  The  ancients  said  "  Nature  abhors  a 
vacuum  "  ;  Galileo  said,  "  Only  to  the  height  of  thirty- 
two  feet,  where  water  is  concerned."  Torricelli, 
probably  familiar  with  the  examples  of  weighing  by 
balance,  said,  "  The  weight  of  the  air  balances  a  column 

1  Pages  113,  129. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  185 

of  water  thirty-two  feet  in  height."  He  argued  fur- 
ther, "  If  a  column  of  water  thirty-two  feet  high  holds 
the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  in  equilibrium,  a  shorter 
column  of  a  heavier  liquid  ought  to  do  the  same ;  mer- 
cury is  thirteen  times  heavier  than  water;  the  at- 
mosphere ought  to  balance  but  thirty  inches  of  this." 
Here  is  a  hypothetical  antecedent  probability.  Closing 
one  end  of  a  three-foot  glass-tube,  he  filled  it  with 
mercury  and  inverted  it  in  a  basin  of  the  liquid  metal : 
the  mercury  in  the  tube  fell,  but  ceased  to  sink  at  a 
height  of  thirty  inches.  Here  was  a  capital  sign  that 
his  theory  was  correct.  Pascal  said  (antecedent  proba- 
bility), "  If  this  column  of  mercury  is  balanced  by  the 
atmosphere,  the  higher  we  ascend,  the  shorter  the  column 
ought  to  be."  So  he  sent  a  friend  up  the  Puy  de  Dome 
with  Torricelli's  contrivance ;  during  the  ascent  the 
column  of  mercury  sank,  and  during  the  descent  the 
column  rose.     Here  was  another  sign. 

William  H.  Seward  in  his  speech  On  the  Irrepressible 
Conflict^  combined  arguments  from  antecedent  proba- 
bility and  analogy  to  show  that  the  Democratic  party, 
if  not  dislodged  from  power,  would  perpetuate  and 
extend  slavery :  — 

"  The  very  constitution  of  the  Democratic  party  commits  it 
to  execute  all  the  designs  of  the  slave-holders,  whatever  they 
may  be.  It  is  not  a  party  of  the  whole  Union,  of  all  the  free 
States  and  of  all  the  slave  States  ;  nor  yet  is  it  a  party  of  the 
free  States  in  the  North  and  in  the  Xorthwest  ;  but  it  is  a  sec- 
tional and  local  party,  having  practically  its  seat  within  the 
slave  States,  and  counting  its  constituency  cliietl}'  and  almost 
exclusively  there.  Of  all  its  representatives  in  Congress  and 
in  the  electoral  colleges,  two  thirds  uniformly  come  from  these 
States.     Its  great  element  of  strength  lies  in  the  vote  of  the 


186  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

slave-holders,  augmented  by  the  representation  of  three  fifths 
of  the  slaves.  Deprive  the  Democratic  party  of  this  strength 
and  it  would  be  a  helpless  minority.  Being  thus  local  and 
sectional,  it  acquires  new  strength  from  the  admission  of  every 
new  slave  State  into  the  Union.  The  slave-holders  necessarily 
dictate  and  prescribe  its  policy.  To  expect  it  to  resist  slavery 
and  favor  freedom  is  as  unreasonable  as  to  look  for  Protestant 
missionaries  to  the  Catholic  Propaganda  of  Rome.  Its  history 
commits  it  to  the  policy  of  slavery."  .  .  . 

"  The  Democratic  party  finally  has  procured  from  a  supreme 
judiciary  fixed  in  its  interest,  a  decree  that  slavery  exists  by 
force  of  the  Constitution  in  every  Territory  of  the  United 
States,  paramount  to  all  legislative  authority  either  within  the 
Territory  or  residing  in  Congress.  ...  It  has  no  policy,  state 
or  federal,  for  finance  or  trade  or  manufacture  or  commerce  or 
education  or  internal  improvements,  or  for  the  protection  or  even 
the  security  of  civil  or  religious  libert3\  It  is  positive  and  un- 
compromising in  the  interests  of  slavery, —  negative,  compromis- 
ing and  vacillating,  in  regard  to  everything  else.  .  .  It  mag- 
nifies itself  for  conquest  but  it  sends  the  national  eagle  forth 
always  with  chains,  and  not  the  olive  branch  in  its  fangs."  ^ 

In  his  speech  On  the  Heforw.  Bill^  Macaulay  argues  by 
a  succession  of  examples  to  show  the  danger  of  revolu- 
tion in  England  unless  the  reform  is  soon  effected :  — 

"It  is  now  time  for  us  to  pay  a  decent,  a  ra- 
o?Examples  ^loi^^l?  ^  manly  reverence  to  our  ancestors,  not  by 
superstitiously  adhering  to  what  they,  in  other 
circumstances,  did,  but  by  doing  what  they,  in  our  circum- 
stances, would  have  done.  All  history  is  full  of  revolutions, 
produced  by  causes  similar  to  those  which  are  now  operating 
in  England.  A  portion  of  the  community  which  had  been  of 
no  account,  expands  and  becomes  strong.  It  demands  a  place 
in  the  system,  suited,  not  to  its  former  weakness,  but  to  its 
present  power.  If  this  is  granted,  all  is  well.  If  this  is  re- 
fused, then  comes  the  struggle  between  the  young  energy  of 

1  Bradley,  Oratioiis  and  Arguments,  306. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  187 

one  class  and  the  ancient  privileges  of  another.  Such  was  the 
struggle  between  the  Plebeians  and  the  Patricians  of  Kome. 
Such  was  the  struggle  of  the  Italian  allies  for  admission  to  the 
full  rights  of  Koman  citizens.  Such  was  the  struggle  of  our 
Xorth  American  Colonies  against  the  mother  country.  Such 
was  the  struggle  which  the  Third  Estate  of  Prance  maintained 
against  the  aristocracy  of  birth.  Such  was  the  struggle  which 
the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland  maintained  against  the  aristoc- 
racy of  creed.  Such  is  the  struggle  which  the  free  people  of 
color  in  Jamaica  are  now  maintaining  against  the  aristocracy 
of  skin.  Such,  finally,  is  the  struggle  which  the  middle  classes 
in  England  are  maintaining  against  an  aristocracy  of  mere 
locality,  against  an  aristocracy,  the  principle  of  which  is  to 
invest  a  hundred  drunken  potwalloi^ers  in  one  place,  or  the 
owner  of  a  ruined  hovel  in  another,  with  powers  which  are 
Avithheld  from  cities  renowned  to  the  furthest  ends  of  the  earth 
for  the  marvels  of  their  wealth  and  of  their  industry."  ' 

In  the  following  it  would  seem  superfluous  to  seek 
greater  force  by  adding  other  arguments,  —  antecedent 
probability,  (6)  and  analogy  (8),  —  to  the  ac- 
cumulation of  signs  indicating  the  rotundity  oJ^s^g^s"^ 
of  the  earth :  — 

(1)  As  a  vessel  sails  away  from  the  land,  we  first  lose  sight 
of  her  hull,  next  of  her  lower  or  main  sails,  and  lastly  of  her 
topsails  and  pennants.  (2)  The  mariner,  as  he  approaches  the 
land,  first  sees  the  mountain-tops,  and  on  gradually  nearing  it, 
sees  the  lower  grounds  stage  by  stage  make  their  appearance. 
(3)  Being  convex  or  round,  each  place  on  the  earth's  surface, 
as  it  turns  from  west  to  east,  has  its  sunrise,  noon,  sunset,  and 
night  in  succession  —  one  half  of  the  globe  being  thus  always 
in  light  while  the  other  is  in  darkness.  (4)  To  one  travelling 
any  considerable  distance,  either  north  or  south,  new  stars 
gradually  come  into  view  in  the  direction  to  which  the  traveller 
is  advancing,  while  others  disappear  in  the  direction  from 
which  he  is  receding.     (5)  Xavigators,  constantly  sailing  nearly 

1  Miscellaneous  Woj-ks,  v.  23. 


188  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

due  east  or  due  west,  have  returned  to  the  jiort  from  which  they 
set  out,  making  a  circumnavigation  of  the  globe.  (6)  Engineers 
in  cutting  canals  have  to  make  an  allowance  for  a  dip  of  about 
eight  inches  a  mile  in  order  to  keep  the  water  at  a  uniform  level. 
(7)  The  shadow  which  the  earth  casts  on  the  moon  during  an 
eclipse  is  always  circular.  (8)  The  earth  belonging  to  a  system, 
the  other  members  of  which  are  globular,  the  fair  presumption 
is,  that  it  also  is  of  the  same  form.  " 

In  the  above  case  the  inference  from  each  fact  or 
phenomenon  taken  as  a  sign,  being  the  effect  of  a  single 
necessary  cause  or  condition,  is  rather  corroborated  than 
Corrobora-  strengthened  by  combination  Avith  the  others, 
tion  or  Rein-  The   forcc   of   the   Combination   is   not  more 

forcement.  c     ^        c  c      n      i  •       i 

than  the  sum  oi  the  force  oi  all  the  smgle 
arguments.  In  many  cases,  however,  it  is  not  so  much 
the  accumulation  of  inferences  from  sign,  as  the  combi- 
nation of  signs  in  a  peculiar  way,  that  gives  cogency 
to  the  whole.  The  force  of  the  arguments  in  combi- 
nation is  much  more  than  the  sum  of  their  force  when 
taken  singly.  Each  circumstance  offered  in  evidence 
against  Vanderpool  ^  could  be  plausibly  explained  on 
the  theory  of  his  innocence,  had  this  circumstance  oc- 
curred alone.  It  was  the  connection  of  the  circum- 
stances that  convinced  the  first  jury  of  the  prisoner's 
guilt.  The  same  is  true  of  the  circumstances  upon 
which  the  Knapps  were  convicted  of  Captain  White's 
murder. 

A  peculiar  inference  from  an  accumulation  or  a  suc- 
cession of  signs  is  that  called  the  argument  from  Pro- 
gressive Tendency.  This  is  the  proof  of  a  part  of  the 
law  of  inertia,  "  A  body  once  set  in  motion,  will  con- 
tinue in  motion  in  a  right  line,  with  a  uniform  velocity, 

1  Page  51. 


CLASSES    OF    ARGUMENTS.  189 

unless  acted  on  by  some  force  tending  to  accelerate,  re- 
tard, stop  or  divert  it. "     This  is  incapable   of  direct 
proof,  since  all  bodies  in  motion  are  subject  to  more 
than  a  single  force.     But  just  in  proportion 
as  all  forces  but  one  are  eliminated,  the  law  ^og^^ssive 

Tendency. 
is  verified.     A  ball  rolls  farther  on  a  smooth 

surface  than  on  a  rough  one :  and  the  smoother  the  sur- 
face, the  farther  the  ball  will  roll.  A  pendulum  swings 
longer  and  a  wheel  continues  longer  in  motion  as  the 
friction  at  the  point  of  support  is  removed  and  the  re- 
sistance of  the  air  is  overcome.  This  argument  has 
been  used  to  prove  the  attributes  of  Deit}^  Not  only 
do  the  most  enlightened  and  intellectually  cultivated 
nations  agree  as  to  these  attributes,  but  just  in  proportion 
as  nations  advance  in  enlightenment  and  culture,  so  they 
recognize  these  attributes.  There  is,  moreover,  a  pro- 
gressive tendency  to  recognize  the  highest  attributes  of 
Divinity,  as  individuals  recede  from  a  savage  state  and 
advance  in  civilization.  ^ 

The  basis  of  all  these  arguments  is  experience,  either 
our  own  or  the  authenticated  experience  of  another  sub- 
stituted for  our  own.  Whatever  may  be  the  ultimate 
foundations  of  belief,  we  always  appeal  to  ex-  au  Argu- 

perience.     The  more  facts  from  this   source  ment  based 

onExperi- 
we  have  m  our  possession,   the  richer  and  ence. 

more  apt  will  be  our  material  for  arguments.  In  ac- 
cumulating facts  from  experience  we  learn  also  how  to 
draw  valid  inferences  from  them.  He  who  would  con- 
vince others  must,  of  course,  have  in  his  possession  all 
the  necessary  facts  pertaining  to  the  case  in  hand ;  but 
almost  all  kinds  of  knowledge  beyond  this  special  case 

iSee  Whately,  Rhetoric,  106. 


190  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

can  be  drawn  upon  for  argument  and  illustration.  It  is 
this  outside,  general  knowledge  that  is  likely  to  be  com- 
mon to  the  arguer  and  those  whom  he  wishes  to  convince. 
The  facts  of  this  specific  matter  he  may  have  to  com- 
municate. 

The  sources  of  'knowledge  useful  to  the  arguer  are 
almost  innumerable.  The  impressions  made  upon  men's 
minds  by  experience  and  its  substitutes,  —  observation, 
reading,  the  testimony  of  others,  —  relate  to 
^owiedffe  nearly  everything  in  the  universe.  'Nothing 
that  can  be  shown,  is  so  mean  and  trivial  or  so 
exalted  that  it  may  not  suggest  ideas  by  which  an  ar- 
gument can  be  illustrated  or  emphasized  or  confirmed. 
The  properties  of  matter,  the  phenomena  of  nature,  the 
character  and  habits  of  the  animal  creation,  the  ex- 
amples of  history  and  biography,  even  the  brilliant  fan- 
tasies of  poetry  and  romance,  the  crude  and  solid  wis- 
dom of  proverbs  and  maxims,  the  facts  of  science,  the 
devices  of  mechanics,  the  mysterious  processes  of  the 
arts,  —  everything  that  eye  has  ever  seen,  ear  heard, 
or  pen  or  voice  has  ever  communicated,  may  furnish 
thought  more  forcible  than  even  the  sworn  evidence  of 
Avitnesses,  for  conviction  and  persuasion.  One  limit 
only  can  be  placed,  —  a  knowledge  of  all  the  matters 
from  which  ideas  of  this  class  can  be  drawn,  must  be  as 
fully  possessed  by  the  hearer  as  by  the  arguer. '  ^ 

1  Abridged  from  Robinson's  Forensic  Oratory,  92. 


SEQUENCE   OF   AEGUMENTS.  191 


V.    SEQUENCE  OF  ARGUMENTS. 

The  sequence  of  arguments  ^  is  of  scarcely  less  im- 
portance than  their  character.  The  reasoner  collects 
arguments  from  every  available  source.     From  these  he 

selects  such  as  will  be  most  cogent,  takinsr 

°  ^        °    Importance 

into  account  the  character  oi    his  auditors,  of  Good 

their  attitude  toward  his  case,  and  toward  s®*^®^"- 
himself.  These  he  must  arrange  so  as  to  give  each 
its  fullest  effect,  and  make  it  render  to  others  its  fullest 
support.  The  ideas  calculated  to  awaken  interest  in 
the  arguer  and  in  his  case,  are  supposed  to  have  been 
presented  in  the  introduction.  The  ideas  which  reveal 
the  nature  of  the  proposition  and  the  arguer's  claims  for 
it,  are  understood  to  have  been  expressed  in  the  parti- 
tion,2  or  announced  plan.  It  remains  to  present  in  the 
body  of  the  discourse  arguments  of  such  kinds  and  in 
such  order  as  will  most  fully  establish  the  proposition, 
and  justify  the  arguer's  claims. 

The  Greek  orators  laid  great  stress  on  the  arrange- 
ment of  arguments :  — 

"  Another  of  his  (Isceus's)  strong  points  was  his  arrangement 
of  materials,  moving  his  forces  with  a  rapidity  and  a  skill  which 
threw  the  stress  of  the  assault  upon  the  enemy's  weakest  points. 
This  is  an  art  which  the  ancients  prized  as  much 
in  oratory  as  in  war  ;  so  much  that  a  disputant  ^^^^^ 
used  to  demand  of  the  judges  that  his  own  order 
be  adhered  to  by  the  speaker  who  was  to  follow,  as  ^schines 
did  when  Demosthenes  was  about  to  demolish  him.     Therefore 
Isteus  varies  his  disposition  of  argument  according  to  present 
need,  like  a  master  of  arts  instead  of  a  servant  of  rules.    Some- 
times he  drops  the  introduction  altogether  and  begins  with  a 

1  This  must  not  be  confused  with  the  grouping  of  proofs,  page  22. 
•^  Pages  1(),  194. 


192  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

brief  statement  of  the  case  with  unconventional  abruptness. 
Again  he  makes  the  narrative  short  or  long,  as  he  chooses, 
combining  luminous  recital  with  iDerspicuous  reasoning,  going 
step  by  step  through  the  argument,  satisfied  with  nothing  but  a 
systematic  and  vigorous  demonstration,  laying  close  siege  to  the 
understanding  of  the  judges.  Sometimes  he  convinces  without 
persuasion,  though  he  seldom  jDcrsuades  without  convincing."  ' 

The  whole  body  of  arguments  must,  like  a  good  sen- 
tence or  paragraph,  possess  clearness  and  unity ;  and  more 
than  any  other  form  or  part  of  com230sition,  it  must  pos- 
sess force.  Its  purpose  is  to  induce  belief  or 
i)y  Arrange-  change  belief,  to  compel  the  acceptance  of  a 
™®^*'  truth  or  the  abandonment  of  an  error.     Ar- 

rangement has  much  to  do  with  securmg  this  force. 
We  have  seen  that  arguments  gain,  not  only  by  accumu- 
lation but  by  their  connection.  But  the  battle  is  not  to 
the  strong  alone ;  it  is  to  the  active,  the  vigilant,  the 
brave.  "  Forces  that  might  be  easily  beaten  m  detail, 
will  often  be  irresistible  if  skillfully  drawn  up  and 
massed  at  the  point  of  danger."  The  gathering  of 
an  army  is  one  thing;  the  instruction,  discipline  and 
successful  management  of  au  army  m  a  hotly  contested 
battle,  is  quite  another.  "  As  the  balance  of  victory 
has  almost  always  been  turned  by  the  supeiiority  of 
tactics  and  discipline,  so  the  great  effects  of  eloquence 
are  always  produced  by  the  excellency  of  disposition. 
There  is  no  part  of  the  science  in  which  the  consum- 
mate orator  Avill  be  so  decidedly  marked  out  as  by  the 
perfection  of  his  disposition."  ^  This  military  analogy 
may  be  carried  farther.  There  is  both  an  independent 
and  an  auxiliary  use  for  infantry,  cavalry,  artillery. 
There    is   superior   gun   metal,    superior    ammunition, 

1  Sears,  History  of  Oratory,  56,  ^  John  Quincy  Adams. 


SEQUENCE    OF    ARGUMENTS.  193 

superior  execution  in  the  timely  discharge  as  well  as 
in  the  placing  of  different  kinds  of  troops.  But  there 
are  so  many  circumstances  to  be  taken  into  account  on 
the  battle-field,  —  the  topography,  the  force,  equipment 
and  disposition  of  the  enemy,  —  that  specific  plans  can 
be  made  and  executed  only  when  these  circumstances 
are  present.  This  is  also  true  of  argument  and  debate. 
Only  general  principles,  therefore,  can  be  suggested. 

Unless  the  proposition  has  already  been  announced  be- 
fore the  body  of  the  discussion  proper  is  entered  upon, 
and  unless  there  are  good  reasons  for  withholding  the 
proposition  until  a  still  further  preparation  of  Natural 
the  hearer  is  made  for  it,  the  natural  order  of  2!!^^^  °^. 

'  Propositions 

proceeding  is — proposition,  direct  proof,  refu-  and  Proof, 
tation,  other  direct  proof.  If,  however,  the  proposition 
is  trite,  somethmg  unexpected,  or  stimulating,  may 
first  be  offered  as  proof  to  avoid  the  danger  of  inatten- 
tion and  prejudice.  If  the  announcement  of  the  speak- 
er's opinion  on  the  proposition  at  the  outset,  would  en- 
counter general  opposition,  it  may  be  properly  delayed 
until  an  impartial  statement  of  proofs  on  both  sides 
seems  to  give  a  presumption  in  his  favor ;  then  he  may 
safely  commit  himself.  In  these  times  of  well-read  but 
impatient  audiences,  however,  it  would  be  a  very  ob- 
scure speaker  who  could  appear  uncommitted  before 
the  public  on  any  question  of  importance.  The  judge 
and  jury  know  which  side  a  lawyer  is  on ;  congrega- 
tions know  their  preacher  to  be  orthodox ;  the  political 
speaker  is  such  because  he  is  known  to  be  on  the  right 
side.  The  device  of  withholding  one's  proposition  would 
seem,  then,  to  be  left  principally  to  essayists,  indepen- 
dent editors,  and  occasional  speakers. 


194  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

However  well  the  proposition  is  stated,  however 
satisfactorily  its  terms  are  defined  and  its  meaning  ex- 
plained, the  auditor  usually  needs  further  help  to  grasp 

and  retain  the  whole  discussion.  This  may 
p^^tition       ^®  furnislied  by  a  partition  ^  of  the  subject. 

If  the  subject  is  unfamiliar  or  requires  close 
reasoning,  if  the  arguments  are  numerous  or  the  dis- 
cussion long,  a  breaking  up  of  the  whole  into  natural 
stages,  lessens  the  fatigue  of  attention  and  aids  the 
memory.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  plan  or  out- 
line is  primarily  for  the  use  of  the  arguer ;  the  partition 
is  for  the  benefit  of  the  hearer.  The  partition  may  be 
simply  so  much  of  the  plan  as  is  announced. 

In  the  speech  at  the  White  murder  trial,  Webster  in- 
dicates by  reference  to  the  questions  before  the  court, 
in  a  few  words  and  under  a  few  headings,  exactly  what 

he  shall  attempt  to  prove .^  In  the  Reply  to 
Examples.  j£^y^^^  ^fter  meeting  personal  and  sectional 
aspersions,  he  gives  his  plan  of  debating  the  real  ques- 
tion, closing  with  the  question  itself.  In  his  Speech 
on  Conciliation,  Burke  divides  his  discussion  briefly 
and  pointedly:  — 

"  The  capital  leading  questions  on  which  you  must  this  day 
decide  are  these  two  :  Pirst,  whether  you  ought  to  concede  ; 
and  secondly,  what  your  concession  ought  to  be.  "^ 

In  his  speech  On  Economical  Reform,  he  begins  with 
an  enumeration  of  the  subjects  to  be  argued :  — 

"  Mr.  Speaker  :  I  rise,  in  acquittal  of  my  engagement  to  the 
House,  in  obedience  to  the  strong  and  just  requisition  of  my 
constituents,  and,  I  am  persuaded,  in  conformity  to  the  unani- 
1  Page  16  et  seq.  ^  Page  291.  ^  Burke,  Select  Works,  168. 


SEQUENCE    OF    ARGUMENTS.  195 

mous  wishes  of  the  whole  nation,  to  submit  to  the  wisdom  of 
Parliament  '  A  Plan  of  Reform  in  the  Constitution  of  Several 
Parts  of  the  Public  Economy. ' 

"  I  have  endeavoured  that  this  plan  should  include,  in  its  ex- 
ecution, a  considerable  reduction  of  improper  expense  ;  that  it 
should  effect  a  conversion  of  unprolitable  titles  into  a  produc- 
tive estate  ;  that  it  should  lead  to,  and  indeed  almost  compel  a 
provident  administration  of  such  sums  of  public  money  as  must 
remain  under  discretionary  trusts  ;  that  it  should  render  the 
incurring  of  debts  on  the  civil  establishment  (  which  must  ulti- 
mately affect  the  national  strength  and  national  credit )  so  very 
difficult  as  to  become  next  to  impracticable. 

"  But  what,  I  confess,  was  uppermost  with  me,  what  I  bent 
the  whole  force  of  my  mind  to,  was  the  reduction  of  that  cor- 
rupt influence  which  is  itself  the  perennial  spring  of  all  prodi- 
gality and  of  all  disorder,  —  which  loads  us  more  than  millions 
of  debt,  —  which  takes  away  vigour  from  our  arms,  wisdom 
from  our  councils,  and  every  shadow  of  authority  and  credit 
from  the  most  venerable  parts  of  our  Constitution. ''  ' 

Huxley  indicates  simply,  briefly,  clearly,  and  after  but 
two  pages  of  introduction,  the  line  of  argument  in  his 
Three  Lectures  on  Evolution? 

"  So  far  as  I  know,  there  are  only  three  hypotheses  which 
have   ever  been  entertained,  respecting  the   past 
story  of  Xature.     I  will,   in  the  first  place,  state 
the  hypotheses,  and  then  I  will  consider  what  evidence  bearing 
upon  them  is  in  our  possession,  and  l)y  what  light  of  criticism 
that  evidence  is  to  be  interpreted." 

The  partition  of  his  lecture  on  The  Study  of  Biol- 
ogy^  in  the  same  volume,  is  still  briefer :  — 

"  I  shall  therefore  address  myself  to  the  endeavor  to  give 
you  some  answer  to  these  four  questions,  —  what  Biology  is; 
why  it  should  be  studied  ;  how  it  should  be  studied  ;  and  when 
it  should  be  studied." 

1  )^o/•^•s,  II.  5o.  2  American  Addresses,  4.  ^  Jiid^  131. 


196  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUINIEXTATIOX. 

At  the  close  of  his  first  lecture  on  evolution,  which 
is  merely  a  preparation  for  liis  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  evolution  theory,  he  makes  a  partition  of  the  sub- 
ject of  the  next  two  lectures :  — 

"  I  shall  place  before  you  three  kinds  of  evidence  entirely 
based  upon  what  is  known  of  the  forms  of  animal  life  which 
are  contained  in  the  stratified  rocks.  I  shall  endeavor  to  show 
3'ou  that  there  is  one  kind  of  evidence  which  is  neutral,  which 
neither  helps  evolution  nor  is  inconsistent  with  it.  I  shall 
then  bring  forward  a  second  kind  of  evidence  which  indicates 
a  strong  probabilit}^  in  favor  of  evolution,  but  does  not  prove 
it.  I  shall  adduce  a  third  kind  of  evidence  which  being  as 
complete  as  any  kind  of  evidence  which  we  can  hope  to  obtain 
on  such  a  subject,  and  being  wholh*  and  strikingly  in  favor  of 
evolution,  may  be  fairly  called  demonstrative  evidence  of  its 
occurrence."  ' 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  is  not  merely  a  partition  of 
the  proposition,  but  a  dividing  of  the  discussion  into 
such  natural  divisions  that  the  listener  may  more  easily 

follow  the  line  of  argument,  and  be  aided 
Partition**^     in  remembering    it.     Divisions   by  partition 

should  be  natural,  on  the  same  basis,  not  too 
numerous,  properly  coordinated,  arranged  in  logical 
order,  stated  succinctly  and  clearly,  and  then  be  carefull}^ 
followed  in  the  discussion.  "Divisions  thus  formed 
and  stated  promote  perspicuity  of  discussion.  They  aid 
the  speaker  in  gaining  this.  Clear  mental  action  works 
instinctively  by  plan,  and  each  assists  the  other.  You 
understand  a  subject  better  by  having  reduced  it  to  a 
plan  of  discourse.  A  natural  division  of  a  subject  for 
use  is  no  more  nor  less  than  a  philosophical  analysis  and 
arrangement  of  its  materials.     Your  own  thoughts  are 

1  American  Addresses,  29. 


SEQUENCE    OF    ARGUMENTS.  197 

the  more  lucid  for  the  discipline.  Divisions  also  assist 
the  hearer  to  clearness  in  understanding  a  discussion. 
Why  should  not  a  hearer,  in  this  respect,  profit  by  a 
statement  of  a  plan,  as  well  as  a  preacher  by  the  exis- 
tence of  a  plan  ?  The  fact  that  he  is  a  hearer,  that  he 
must  depend  on  the  momentary  perceptions  of  the  ear, 
that  he  has  no  chance  for  review,  for  delay,  for  growth 
of  thought,  renders  him  specially  dependent  upon  the 
facilities  which  logic  suggests  for  an  understanding  of 
oral  discourse.  The  whole  argument  for  the  statement 
of  a  proposition  bears  with  nearly  equal  force  upon  the 
necessity  of  stating  divisions  also."  ^ 

Exposition  often  paves  the  way  for  argument  by 
making  clear  the  meaning  of  what  is  to  be  proved, 
whether  in  the  chief  proposition,  the  subordinate  propo- 
sitions used  as  proofs,  or  the  terms  in  which  Exposition 

statements  are  made.     Sometimes,  too,  it  is  inAr&u- 

•  4     mentation, 

made  to  do  the  work  ot  argumentation.     A 

clear  exposition  of  the  meaning  of  a  statement  often 
renders  proof  of  its  truth  unnecessary.  In  many  pas- 
sages in  the  Reply  to  Hayne  and  in  The  Constitution  not 
a  Compact^  Webster  so  forcibly  expounds  principles  and 
results,  identities  and  distinctions,  that  the  reader  is 
compelled  to  draw  his  own  conclusions  and  thus  accept 
exposition  for  argument. 

In  rare  instances,  positive,  incisive  statement  has  the 
force   of  argument,   but  like   exposition,   very  seldom 

throughout  extended  discourse.     In  his  char- 

f^     _  statement 

acterization  of  Samuel  Dexter,  AVebster  at-  Equivalent 

ti'ibutes  this  remarkable  power  to  that  gen-  ^*^  -^^^^"^^"t- 

tleman :  "  His  very  statement   was   argument ;   his  in- 

1  Phelps,  Lectures  on  P}'enchl)ig,SG5. 


198  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

ference  was  demonstration.  The  earnestness  of  his  own 
conviction  Avrought  conviction  in  others.  One  was  con- 
vinced, and  believed  and  assented,  because  it  w^as  grati- 
fying, delightful,  to  think,  and  feel,  and  believe,  in  uni- 
son with  an  intellect  of  such  evident  su]3eriority."^ 

He  gives  an  illustration  of  his  own  power  in  this 
respect,  when,  in  characterizing  Jeremiah  Mason,  he 
thus  enforces  the  proposition,  "  Religion  is  an  element 
of  greatness  "  :  — 

"  Political  eminence  and  professional  fame  fade  away  and 
die  with  all  things  earthly.  Xothing  of  character  is  really 
permanent  but  virtue  and  personal  worth.  These  remain. 
Whatever  of  excellence  is  wrought  into  the  soul  itself  belongs 
to  both  worlds.  Real  goodness  does  not  attach  itself  merel}'  to 
this  life  ;  it  jDoints  to  another  world.  Political  or  j^rofessional 
eminence  cannot  last  forever  ;  but  a  conscience  void  of  offence 
before  God  and  man  is  an  inheritance  for  eternity.  Beligion, 
therefore,  is  a  necessary  and  indispensable  element  in  any  great 
human  character.  There  is  no  living  without  it.  Religion  is 
the  tie  that  connects  man  Avith  his  Creator,  and  holds  him  to 
His  throne.  If  that  tie  be  all  sundered,  all  broken,  he  floats 
away,  a  worthless  atom  in  the  Universe  ;  its  proper  attractions 
all  gone,  its  destiny  thwarted,  and  its  whole  future  nothing  but 
darkness,  desolation  and  death.  A  man  with  no  sense  of  re- 
ligious duty  is  he  wiiom  the  Scriptures  describe,  in  such  terse 
but  terrific  language,  as  living  'without  God  in  the  world.' 
Such  a  man  is  out  of  his  proper  being,  out  of  the  circle  of  all 
his  duties,  out  of  the  circle  of  all  his  happiness,  and  away,  far, 
far  away,  from  the  purpose  of  his  creation."  ^ 

The  force  and  relevancy  of  the  arguments  selected  to 
establish  a  proposition,  are  of  more  importance  than 
their  number.  A  few  pertinent  and  decisive  arguments 
are  better  than  a  host  stopping  just  short  of    conclu- 

1  Great  Speeches,  2(12.  ^  Ibid,  595. 


SEQUENCE   OF   ARGUMENTS.  199 

siveness.  Were  all  minds  convinced  by  the  same  kind 
of  reasoning,  frequently  a  single  indisputable  argument, 
and  usually  a  few,  if  not  balanced  by  arguments  equally 
indisputable,  would  suffice.     But  as  different  „     ^ 

^  Number  and 

minds  are  not  convinced  by  the  same  argu-  Force  of 
ments,  and  as  a  decision  is  usually  the  bal-  ^^'^^^^  ^* 
ancing  of  probabilities,  numerous  and  diverse  argu- 
ments are  necessary.  Weak  arguments,  however, 
should  be  rejected.  They  excite  suspicion  and  lessen 
the  force  of  valid  arguments  with  which  they  are  con- 
nected. Weak  and  strong  are  relative  terms,  however, 
depending  on  what  is  to  be  proved  and  what  mind  is  to 
be  convinced. 

"  That  which  in  one  class  of  subjects  would  be  of 
great  force,  would  be  feeble  in  another  class.  Ex- 
trinsic proof  is  usually  regarded  as  of  inferior  value. 
In  theoretical  subjects  it  holds,  if  admitted 
at  all,  a  subordinate  place ;  but  when  the  g^ij^ectsr^* 
question  is  one  of  fact,  it  is  more  decisive 
than  any  other.  In  theological  discussions  the  appeal 
is  to  the  teachings  of  Scripture;  in  legal  proceedmgs, 
to  the  decisions  of  the  courts ;  in  both  authority  is  of 
supreme  importance.  When  the  question  is  as  to  a 
future  event,  the  a  'priori  argument  is  the  most  deci- 
sive: analogy  and  example  are  also  employed.  These 
kinds  of  proof  are  therefore  the  most  important  in 
senatorial  eloquence,  which  is  occupied  chiefly  with 
questions  of  expediency.  Wlien  the  aim  is  to  estab- 
lish the  presence  of  a  certain  cause,  the  a  posteriori 
argument  is  most  effective ;  when  the  probability  of  a 
past  event  is  to  be  shown,  testimony  is  preferred,  and 
after  it,  the  otlier  arguments  a  posteriori.     These,  ac- 


200  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

corcliiigly,  are  the  most  important  forms  of  proof  in 
judicial  oratory."  ^ 

What  may  be  complete  proof  to  those  acquainted  with 
the  subject,  might  have  no  effect  on  an  ignorant  mind. 
Not  only  degree  of  intelligence  but  ability  to  give  atten- 
tion must  be  considered.  Candid  minds  open 
mnds^^""*  to  conviction,  and  fair  minds  ready  to  weigh 
whatever  seems  worthy  of  consideration,  may 
be  mfluenced  by  what  would  not  touch  the  prejudiced, 
the  bigoted  or  the  captious.  What  is  true  of  the  land  of 
arguments,  as  related  to  different  persons,  is  to  a  certain 
extent  true  also  of  the  order  of  presentation.  Only  the 
most  general  prmciples  can  be  suggested.  The  details 
must  be  left  to  the  speaker,  w^ho  is  supposed  to  know 
his  audience  and  his  occasion. 

Some  propositions,  then,  and  some  occasions,  demand 
one  class  of  arguments,  and  some  another ;  but  usually 
two  or  all  three  classes  are  used.  It  has  been  seen  that 
Antecedent  i^  scientific  investigation  a  certain  order  of 
FrobabUity,  procedure  is  maintained.2  This  order  is  gen- 
Siffii.  erally  adopted    for   literary   argument   also. 

That  order  has  been  found  most  effective  which  begins 
with  arguments  from  antecedent  probability,  follows 
these  with  arguments  from  example,  and  follows  ex- 
amples with  arguments  from  sign.  From  certain  estab- 
lished principles,  —  causes  or  motives  with  their  known 
influences  and  tendencies,  —  a  hypothesis  is  formed  as 
to  what  is  likely  to  be.  Instances,  essentially  like  the 
case  in  hand,  are  cited  to  show  the  more  or  less  certain 
operation  of  these  causes.  Particular  signs  are  adduced 
to  show  that  what  is  supposed  to  occur,  what  has  oc- 

1  Hepburn,  Manual  of  Rhetoric,  197.  2  Page  129. 


SEQUENCE    OF    ARGUMENTS.  201 

cuned  in  the  similar  cases,  does  actually  occur  in  the 
present  case. 

The  reasons  for  this  order  are  obvious.  We  ma}^ 
say  that  the  arguments  from  antecedent  probability  are 
explanatory  of  the  whole  case  and  of  the  principle  in- 
volved; and  so  they  are  the  natural  prepara- 
tion for  the  other  arguments.  If  the}'  were  ^^Xder*^ 
to  come  last  they  might  be  thought  not  so 
much  arguments  as  explanations  of  what  had  been  sup- 
posed proved  by  the  other  arguments,  examples  and 
signs ;  but  if  a  listener  deemed  a  fact  not  proved,  he 
would  care  little  for  explanation.  If  examples  were 
placed  first  the  hearer  might  not  see  their  pertinence 
not  knowing  the  principle  under  which  they  were  ad- 
duced. "  Coming  first,  arguments  from  antecedent  prob- 
ability raise  a  presumption  in  favor  of  the  proposition  to 
be  proved.  This  presumption  is  strengthened  by  argu- 
ments from  example,  which  furnish  evidence  concerning 
similar  occurrences,  and  by  those  from  sign,  which  fur- 
nish evidence  tending  to  show  that  what  was  likely  to 
occur  did  occur.  Arguments  from  antecedent  proba- 
bility, since  they  suggest  a  cause  or  causes,  point  to  the 
principle  which  is  applicable  to  the  case  in  hand ;  those 
from  example  furnish  instances  of  its  application  in  other 
cases  ;  those  from  sign  tend  to  prove  that  it  applies  in  the 
present  case."  ^ 

This  order  seems  the  most  natural.  The  scientist 
uses  it.2  The  jurist  uses  it.  He  first  puts  forward  a 
theory  of  the  case,  depending  on  a  general  principle ; 
then  he  cites  other  cases,  examples  of  the  application 
of  this  principle ;    then    he    produces  special  signs   of 

1  A.  S.  Hill,  Principles  of  Rhetoric,  383.  2  Pages  113,  129. 


202  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

the  fact  in  this  case.     The  medical  writer  and  the  practi- 
tioner use  it.     It  is  the  method  in  deliberative  oratory. 
It   may   be    the  method  of   an  entire   discourse,  or  of 
those   parts    of    a    discourse    which   sustam 

This  Order  ^ 

GeneraUy       any  suiglc  suborduiatc  proposition.       In  the 

°'  ^  *  Speech  on  Conciliation^  Burke  first  gives  the 
the  causes  which  would  keep  the  Americans  from  sub- 
mission, and  the  advantages,  which,  if  turned  to  English 
account,  should  be  motives  for  conciliation  on  the  part 
of  the  English,  —  growing  population,  prosperity,  i.  e. 
tendency  towards  mdependence,  agriculture,  trade,  fish- 
eries, and  American  love  of  liberty.  Then  after  showing 
by  various  combinations  of  arguments  that  conciliation  is 
the  only  practical,  if  not  the  only  possible  way  of  dealing 
successfully  with  the  Colonies,  he  adduces  the  examples 
of  Ireland,  Wales,  Durham  and  Chester.  He  often  fol- 
lows this  order  m  a  single  paragraph.  "  The  Americans," 
he  argues,  "  will  not  submit ;  for  among  other  thmgs  they 
are  devoted  to  the  principles  of  personal  libert}^;  we 
should  expect  this,  for  love  of  liberty  is  a  fundamental 
element  of  their  religion,  the  dissidence  of  dissent,  the 
protestantism  of  the  Protestant  religion,  this  religion, 
under  a  variety  of  denominations,  agreeing  in  nothing 
but  in  the  communion  of  the  spirit  of  liberty." 

"  Sir,  I  can  perceive  by  their  manner  that  some  gentlemen 
object  to  the  latitude  of  this  description,  because  in  the  South- 
ern Colonies  the  Church  of  England  forms  a  large  body,  and 
has  a  regular  establishment.  It  is  certainly  true.  There  is, 
however,  a  circumstance  attending  these  Colonies  which,  in 
my  opinion,  fully  counterbalances  this  difference,  and  makes 
the  spirit  of  liberty  still  more  high  and  haughty  than  in  those 
to  the  northward.  It  is  that  in  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas 
they  have  a  vast  multitude  of  slaves.     Where  this  is  the  case 


SEQUENCE    OF    ARGUMENTS.  203 

in  any  j^art  of  the  world,  those  who  are  free  are  by  far  the 
most  i^roiid  and  jealous  of  their  freedom.  Freedom  is  to  them 
not  only  an  enjoyment,  but  a  kind  of  rank  and  privilege.  Xot 
seeing  there,  that  freedom,  as  in  countries  where  it  is  a  common 
blessing  and  as  broad  and  general  as  the  air,  may  be  united 
with  much  abject  toil,  with  great  misery,  with  all  the  exterior 
of  servitude  ;  liberty  looks,  amongst  them,  like  something  that 
is  more  noble  and  liberal.  I  do  not  mean,  Sir,  to  commend 
the  suiDcrior  morality  of  this  sentiment,  which  has  at  least  as 
much  jiride  as  virtue  in  it ;  but  I  cannot  alter  the  nature  of 
man.  The  fact  is  so  ;  and  these  people  of  the  Southern  Colo- 
nies are  much  more  strongl}',  and  with  an  higher  and  more  stub- 
born spirit,  attached  to  liberty  than  those  to  the  northward. 
Such  were  all  the  ancient  commonwealths  ;  •  such  were  our 
Gothic  ancestors  ;  such  in  our  days  were  the  Poles  ;  and  such 
will  be  all  masters  of  slaves,  who  are  not  slaves  themselves. 
In  such  a  people  the  haughtiness  of  domination  combines  with 
the  spirit  of  freedom,  fortifies  it  and  renders  it  invincible."  ^ 

In  his  speech  at  the  White  murder  trial,  Webster 
first  shows  by  signs,  —  circumstantial  evidence,  —  that 
there  was  a  conspiracy  for  the  murder.  He  then  shows 
Knapp's  motive  for  entering  this  conspiracy,  and  adduces 
arguments  from  sign,  —  testimony  and  circumstantial 
evidence,  —  that  Knapp  ivas  connected  with  the  con- 
spiracy ;  then  he  argues  by  examples,  —  cited  cases,  — 
and  signs,  —  testimony  and  circumstances,  —  proving 
certain  facts,  that  Knapp  was  so  connected  as  to  make 
him  principal.  Like  Burke,  Webster  sometimes  uses 
this  order  of  argument  in  establishing  a  single  point.^ 

Huxley's  main  proposition,  "  That  the  present  con- 
dition of  the  earth  is  the  result  of  evolution,"  scientifi- 
cally viewed,  does  not  admit  of  a  jjrlo?^  considerations. 
It  is  a  matter  of  historic  fact  to  be  established  or  over- 

1  Select  Works,  I.  181.  2  Pages  00. 


204  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

thrown  by  the  evidence  of  circnmstances.  But  in  estab- 
lishing these  circumstances  and  in  meeting  objections, 
he  uses  arguments  of  all  three  classes.  From  various 
examples,  he  forms  his  hypothesis.  Taking  this  pro- 
visionally as  his  argument  from  antecedent  probabilit}', 
he  proceeds  to  verify  by  examples  and  signs,  what  the 
hypothesis  is  used  to  account  for. 

Neither  a  single  sign  nor  a  single  example  is,  as  a 

rule,  a  sufBcient  basis  for  a  forceful  argument.     The 

sign  may  be  misunderstood,  misinterpreted  or  fabricated ; 

.  or  if  genuine,  and  the  argument  based  upon 

Example        it  valid,  it  may  appeal  to  but  part  of  those  to 

Insufficient.    ,  •  t         a       •       i      •      .  i 

be  convinced.  A  single  instance  may  be  an 
exception  instead  of  an  example ;  or  if  an  examj^le,  it 
may  impress  many  but  slightly,  and  a  few  not  at  all. 

When  it  is  possible  it  is  desirable  to  arrange  the 
material  of  argumentative  discourse,  as  in  other  kinds 
of  discourse,  in  climax  order.  There  are,  however, 
cum  many  difficulties  in  the  way.     This  arrange- 

Order.  When  ment  might  interfere  with  the  support  that 
arguments  would  otherwise  give  each  other. 
It  might  not  be  the  most  obvious  order ;  and  an  audi- 
ence suspects  of  sophistry  or  artifice,  a  speaker  who 
presents  arguments  in  a  way  which  seems  to  them  un- 
natural. It  would  seem  to  involve  beginning  with  a 
weak  argument,  and  so  incurring  the  danger  of  preju- 
dice from  the  start.  The  first  argument  must  be  strong 
and  obvious,  to  secure  interest  and  a  favorable  hearino- 
for  what  is  to  follow.  The  last  argument  must  also  be 
one  of  breadth,  weight  and  cogency,  to  deepen  and  fix 
the  final  impression.  The  arrangement  in  order  of 
climax,  then,  may  begin  after  the  first  argument;  and 


SEQUENCE    OF    ARGUMENTS.  205 

arguments  of  less  force  may  be  so  arranged  throughout 
the  discourse  as  to  buttress  other  stronger  arguments, 
instead  of  being  given  undue  prominence  themselves. 
Arguments  intrinsically  weak  may  gain  strength  by 
position.  Both  Webster  and  Burke  are  specially  skill- 
ful in  arranging  the  material  of  the  separate  parts  of 
their  speeches  in  climax  order,  and  in  emphasizing  what 
has  been  so  far  presented,  by  concise  recapitulation.^ 

The  advantages  of  frequent  I'ecapitulation  in  long 
oral  addresses,  are  obvious.  Even  the  most  skillful 
speaker  fails  sometimes  to  hold  the  continuous  attention 
of  the  entire  audience.     Those  who  give  con-  ^ 

c>  Frequent 

stant  attention  may  be  unable  to  retain  un-  Recapituia- 
aided  all  the  points  presented  even  in  a  single 
stage  of  the  discourse.  Summaries  stimulate  attention 
and  recall  and  emphasize  salient  points.  The  recapitu- 
lation of  the  reasons  for  the  spirit  of  liberty  in  the 
Colonies,  which  has  already  been  quoted,^  is  a  good 
example  of  Burke's  method.  Others  Avill  be  found  at 
the  end  of  other  parts  of  the  speech.  Huxley  regularly 
recapitulates  at  the  end  of  a  lecture  the  substance  of 
what  has  been  presented,  or  gives  it  at  the  beginning 
of  the  next  lecture,  as  an  introduction.  The  following 
from  the  Letters  of  Junius  is  a  capital  rapid  summary 
of  a  preceding  discussion  :  — 

"  This,  Sir,  is  the  detail.  In  one  view,  behold  a  nation  over- 
whehned  with  debt ;  her  revenues  wasted  ;  her  trade  declin- 
ing ;  the  affections  of  her  colonies  alienated  ;  the  duty  of  the 
magistrate  transferred  to  the  soldiery  ;  a  gallant  army,  which 
never  fought  unwillingly  but  against  their  fellow  subjects, 
mouldering  away  for  want  of  the  direction  of  a  man  of  coni- 

1  Pages  304,  306,  311,  327,  336,  338,  339.  -  Page  89. 


206  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

mon  abilities  and  spirit ;  and,  in  the  last  instance,  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  become  odious  and  suspected  to  the  whole 
body  of  the  i^eople.  This  deplorable  scene  admits  but  of  one 
addition  —  that  we  are  governed  by  councils,  from  which  a 
reasonable  man  can  expect  no  remedy  but  poison,  no  relief  but 
death."  ^ 

When  a  speaker  must  either  precede  or  follow  an 
opponent,  this  fact  may  modify  the  arrangement  of  his 
arguments.  In  the  first  case  he  may  find  it  desirable 
to  anticipate  and  answer  objections ;  in  the 
DSrnitions  second,  he  will  most  likely  have  to  meet  and 
answer  opposing  arguments.  He  avIio  attacks 
an  established  theory  or  a  popular  belief,  finds  himself 
under  the  same  obligation.  This  meeting  of  objections 
and  answering  of  arguments,  is  called  refutation.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  process  is  purely  destructive. 

The  champion  of  a  new  or  unpopular  theory,^  in  order 
to  get  a  hearing  at  all,  must  often  put  forward  at  the  be- 
ginning, arguments  of  unusual  force.  Some  of  the  funda- 
mental ideas  supporting  the  old  theory  must 
iimovator  ^^  attacked,  to  shake  the  faith  of  the  audi- 
ence in  it  and  weaken  their  attachment  to  it. 
Nor  can  he  approach  to  any  purpose  with  tack-hammer 
and  nippers ;  he  must  come  with  sledge-hammer  and 
tongs.  He  must  destroy  as  soon  and  as  effectively  as 
possible.  He  must,  moreover,  attack  those  ideas  which 
in  their  fall  will  take  most  with  them.  Thus  Huxley's 
first  lecture  in  the  series  of  three  lectures  on  evolution, 
is  a  refutation  of  the  "Eternity"  hypothesis  and  the 
"  Mil  tonic  "  hypothesis.  He  could  hope  to  make  but 
little  headway   with   the   arguments   for   evolution  so 

1  First  Letter.  "-  Page  34. 


SEQUENCE    OF    ARGUMENTS.  207 

long  as  a  large  part  of  his  audience  had  no  reason  for 
distrusting  the  soundness  of  the  ''  Miltonic "  theory. 
Special  objections  he  meets  and  refutes  as  they  may  be 
suggested  by  his  own  arguments,  or  as  they  may  natur- 
ally arise  in  the  minds  of  his  audience. 

Webster  begins  his  speech  at  the  White  murder 
trial  by  refuting  the  charge  of  his  being  brought  to 
hurry  the  jury  against  the  law  and  beyond  the  evidence. 
He  gives  the  details  of  the  crime,  and  then 
refutes  the  idea  that  tliere  was  extraordinary  opponeS^^ 
effort  made  to  discover  and  punish  the  guilty. 
Throughout  the  speech,  along  with  direct  proof,  re- 
futation comes  as  it  seems  necessary  and  Avhere  it  seems 
most  natural.  The  first  half  of  Webster's  Tlie  Consti- 
tution not  a  Compact^  is  an  elaborate  refutation  of 
the  widely  accepted  nullification  doctrine.  In  Burke's 
Speech  Previous  to  the  Bristol  Election  and  in  the  Speech 
on  Conciliation^  refutation  comes  in  at  the  close  as  sup- 
plementary and  completes  the  argument.  It  is  merely 
an  answer  to  objections  which  are  not  of  great  sig- 
nificance. 

The  place  of  refutation  then,  seems,  in  general,  to 
depend  on  the  nature  and  force  of  what  is  to  be  refuted, 
and  on  the  attitude  of  those  addressed  to  this  and  to  the 
speaker.     Unless  an  opposing  argument  really 
blocks  the  way  of  constructive  arguments,  it  Rgfuution. 
is  rarely  judicious  to  begin  a  speech  by  refu- 
tation.    This  makes  the  opposing  arguments  too  promi- 
nent.    The  beginning  and  the  end  of  a  discourse  are 
the   emphatic  places,   and  should  be   occupied  by  the 
strongest  constructive  arguments.     Yet  not  infrequently 
the  first  speaker  in  the  debate  spends  the  entire  time 


208  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATIOX. 

allotted  him,  in  imagining  and  answering  what  his 
••'  worthy  opponent  will  tell  you,"  when  he  should  be 
putting  forward  strong  direct  arguments  of  his  own. 
He  thus  aids  his  opponent  m  several  ways.  If  his 
predictions  are  correct,  he  gets  his  opponent's  arguments 
so  much  the  earlier  before  the  audience,  and  his  refuta- 
tions will  not  always  convmce  every  hearer.  If  his 
predictions  are  false  he  leaves  the  audience  to  infer  his 
unfairness  and  his  lack  of  positive  arguments,  and  his 
opponent  has  the  field, 

Nor  will  it  for  other  reasons  be  wise,  as  a  rule,  to 
delay  all  refutation  till  the  close.  If  obvious  objections 
are  not  answered  as  soon  as  it  is  thought  they  should  be, 
some  will  believe  this  is  because  they  cannot  be  an- 
swered at  all ;  or  it  may  seem  that  constructive  argu- 
ments have  failed  to  make  out  a  case,  and  refutation 
comes  in  at  last  only  to  make  the  other  side  a  little  more 
doubtful ;  or  it  may  recall  such  of  the  opponent's  argu- 
ments as  the  speaker  would  like  to  have  forgotten. 

It  would  seem  best,  then,  first  to  make  out  an  ap]3ar- 
ent  case  by  constructive  arguments.  If  necessary  it 
may  be  conceded  that  against  the  speaker's  position 
there  are  strong  arguments  which  will  be 
noticed  later.  It  will  not  answer  to  neglect 
these  altogether  unless  the  cogenc}^  of  constructive  ar- 
guments renders  any  refutation  unnecessary ;  for,  agaui, 
it  will  be  said  that  they  are  unanswered  because  they 
are  unanswerable.  When  the  speaker  has  the  atten- 
tion, the  good  will,  the  S3'mpathy  and  the  confidence  of 
the  audience,  when  he  seems  to  tliem  to  have  made  out 
a  prima  facie  case,  then  he  may  safely  leave  his  side 
for  a  time  and  discuss  what  seems  to  make  agamst  him ; 


SEQUENCE    OF    ARGUMENTS.  209 

or  he  may  answer  objections  where  they  seem  most 
closely  connected  with  his  own  arguments.  To  forget 
to  take  up  a  pomt  that  has  been  thus  waived,  however, 
is  dishonest  and  frequently  disastrous.  To  give  oppos- 
ing arguments  too  much  attention  is  to  emphasize  them 
unnecessarily ;  to  ignore  them  entirely  is  to  mcur  the 
suspicion  of  inability  to  answer  them.  '•'  One  under- 
lying principle  of  modern  parliamentary  debate  is  the 
assumption  that  all  antagonism  springs  from  honest 
difference  of  opinion,  and  therefore  can  be  removed  by 
argument.  This  assumption  is  not  necessa- 
rily true.  Interest,  prejudice,  passion,  hatred,  o^onent." 
envy  and  malice,  are  often  at  the  root  of 
differences  even  with  regard  to  points  of  constitutional 
law ;  and  many  an  opmion  is  not  founded  on  conviction, 
but  is  used  as  a  mere  weapon  of  attack.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  the  boast  at  once  of  the  most  civilized  and  the  most 
successful  forensic  art  to  treat  an  adversary's  opinions 
as  error  and  not  as  produced  by  origmal  shi.  The  best 
practical  test  of  what  are  allowable  epithets  or  imputa- 
tions m  debate  is  to  ask,  '  Should  we  consider  this  fair 
debate  if  applied  to  ourselves  ? '  —  a  test  which  is  at 
once  good  morals  and  good  sense."  ^ 

Fairness  m  meeting  objections,  honesty  in  stating 
them,  and  boldness  and  skill  in  answermg  them,  or  can- 
dor in  acknowledguig  their  force,  are  all  m  the  interest 
of  the  debater  whose  aim  is  either  truth  or  victory.  It 
is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  "  truth  is  better  than 
victory,"  and  victory  at  the  expense  of  truth,  or  victory 
without  truth,  is  not  worth  the  contest. 

*'  In  nothing  is  tlie  prodigious  power  of  Fox  as  a  debater 
1  The  Nation. 


210  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

more  strikingly  shown  than  in  the  fact  that  after  having  stated 
his  adversary's  argument  with  tenfold  more  force  than  his  adver- 
sary himself  had  put  it,  so  that  his  friends  were  alarmed  lest  he 
should  fail  to  answer  it,  he  proceeded  to  rend  it  in  pieces,  thus 
making  the  contrast  between  it  and  its  destruction  all  the  more 
vivid."  Mr.  Lincoln  was  noted  for  giving  away  small  points. 
"  We  may  be  wrong  on  that,  your  honor,"  he  would  say  ;  or, 
"  I  think  we  were  wrong  there,  but  it  is  not  the  gist  of  the 
matter  anyway."  This  fair  play  and  liberalit}'  always  told  with 
a  jur}'  when  he  finally  said,  "  I^ow,  this  much  we  may  ask,  and 
when  I  shall  state  it,  it  will  be  a  reasonable  demand.''  Then 
with  the  husk  all  trimmed  oif ,  he  would  state  in  a  candid  way 
such  a  reasonable  request  that  the  justice  of  his  demand  stood 
alone  and  relieved  of  everything  but  a  fair,  just  judgment. 

All  the  methods  of  indirect  ^  argument  may  be  success- 
fully used  in  refutation.  A  contradictory  proposition 
may  be  put  forward  and  sustained  by  any  of  the  modes 

of  direct  reasoning.  The  truth  of  the  propo- 
Refutation     ^itlon  assailed,  whether  premise  or  conclusion, 

may  be  disproved  by  direct  evidence,  or  the 
evidence  upon  which  it  rests  may  be  shown  to  be  false 
or  insufficient.  The  reasoning  leading  to  a  conclusion 
may  be  shown  to  be  fallacious.  It  may  be  proved  that 
assigned  motives  and  causes  are  inoperative,  that  signs 
are  inadequate,  that  examples  are  exceptions,  and  that 
analogies  lack  resemblance  in  vital  pouits.^  Epigram, 
retort,  repartee,  ridicule,  irony,  epithet,  have  a  use  as 
well  as  an  abuse  in  refutation. 

"  We  must  not  close  our  review  without  calling  attention  to 
our  author's  happy  way  of  compressing  an  argument  into  an 
epigram  ;  as  when  he  speaks  of  George's  argument  '  that  col- 
lective property  in  land  is  perfectly  practicable  because  so 
many  races  have  tried  it  and  given  it  up.'     Another  instance 

1  Page  78.  2  Pages  122,  155,  167,  181. 


SEQUENCE   OF    ARGUMENTS.  211 

is  to  be  found  when  the  statement,  '  It  is  not  the  wealth  that 
the  capitalist  consumes  which  really  goes  to  the  laborers,  but 
the  wealth  that  he  does  not  consume,'  is  substituted  for  that 
ancient  stumbling-block,  '  A  demand  for  commodities  is  not  a 
demand  for  labor.'  -' ' 

Neither  Webster  nor  Burke  hesitated  to  cast  suspi- 
cion on  an  adversary's  conclusions  by  ridiculing  the 
source  of  his  argument,  or  his  methods,  or  his  preten- 
sions. Webster's  speech  at  Niblo's,  and  the  passages 
on  the  Coalition,  and  carrying  war  into  the  enemy's 
country",  in  the  Reply  to  Hayne^  afford  good  examples. 
Burke's  speech  before  the  Bristol  election  offers  good 
illustrations  of  his  power  of  satire,  irony,  and  ridicule, 
used  with  the  force  of  refutation. 

The  following  is  a  good  example  of  candid  and  dig- 
nified refutation  from  an  editorial  pen  ;  and  it  illustrates 
several  valid  methods  m  meeting  and  overcomhig  oppos- 
ing arguments :  — 

'^  Last  of  all,  we  wish  to  say  a  few  ^vords  about  high  schools. 
The  high  school  is  perhajjs  the  most  characteristic   Example  of 
product  of  American  ideals  of  education,  and  is  so   Dignified 
firml}'  intrenched  in  the  good-will  and  sj'mpathj'  of   Refutation, 
the  vast  majority  of  taxpayers  that  it  may  safely  be  counted 
upon  to  hold  its  own.     Yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  in  our  larger 
cities  a  certain  numerical^  small  but  active  element  of  antago- 
nism to  the  high  school  as  an  institution,  makes  itself  felt  upon 
critical  occasions,  and  succeeds  in  weakening  the  influence  and 
efficiency  of  high-school  work. 

"  The  arguments  directed  against  the  high  school  may  be 
reduced  to  three.  (1)  Its  work  is  ornamental  and  therefore 
superfluous.  (2)  Only  a  small  percentage  of  the  school  popu- 
lation receives  its  l)enefits,  while  all  are  taxed  for  its  support. 
(3)  It  is  mainly  an  institution  for  the  wealthy  classes,  who 
alone  send  their  children  to  it. 

1  The  Nation. 


212  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   AKGUMENTATIOX. 

"  To  the  first  of  these  arguments  we  may  reply  that  the  ques- 
tion involved  is  one  of  degree  and  not  of  kind.  No  one  not 
invincible  in  his  own  ignorance,  can  safely  divide  school  work 
into  two  sorts,  the  useful  and  the  ornamental  ;  nor  can  anj^- 
one  intelligently  assert  that  the  leaven  of  good  citizenship,  the 
chief  object  of  all  public  schools,  is  less  successfully  cultivated 
in  the  high  school  than  in  the  school  of  lower  grade.  The  only 
question  suitable  for  the  public  to  consider  is  that  of  the  num- 
ber of  years  for  which  it  is  proposed  to  support  a  school  system  ; 
and  the  answer  will  depend  upon  the  economic  condition  of  the 
community  concerned.  If  the  majority  decides  for  a  twelve- 
year  course,  those  who  would  have  preferred  eight  years,  or 
six,  or  ten,  cannot  fairly  claim  that  any  question  of  principle  is 
involved  in  their  disagreement. 

"  The  second  argument,  that,  high  schools  being  for  the 
few,  the  many  should  not  be  taxed  for  their  support,  may  be 
disposed  of  in  a  similar  way.  Here  again  we  have  merely  a 
question  of  degree.  If  a  public-school  system  covered  only 
two  years  of  study,  there  would  be  fewer  children  in  the 
second  year  than  in  the  first.  Whatever  the  length  of  the 
course,  there  will  be  fewer  students  in  each  year  than  in  the 
3'ear  jDreceding.  Or,  taking  the  argument  of  '  the  few  and  the 
many,'  as  it  is  sometimes  put,  it  would  be  just  as  fair  to  select 
any  one  school,  high  or  low,  in  a  city  system,  and  say  ;  '  This 
school  only  accommodates  five  per  cent  of  the  children  of 
the  community,  yet  all  the  community  is  taxed  for  its  sup- 
port. Behold  the  monstrous  injustice  ! '  Such  is  the  logic 
with  which  the  friends  of  public  education  sometimes  have 
to  contend. 

"  As  for  the  final  argument  of  the  enemies  of  the  high 
school,  it  more  often  than  not  rests  upon  a  falsehood.  We 
do  not  know  how  it  is  in  all  other  cities,  but  we  assert  that  in 
Chicago,  at  least  (and  the  assertion  is  based  upon  a  quarter- 
centuiy  of  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  facts),  the  high 
schools  are  not  institutions  for  the  wealthy  and  well-to-do 
classes.  It  might  very  reasonably  be  argued  that  if  they  were, 
there  would  be  no  inherent  injustice  in  the  arrangement,  since 
the  wealthy  classes  pay  taxes  in  a  proportion  greatly  exceeding 


■  SEQUENCE    OF    ARGTJZMENTS.  213 

the  number  of  their  children  ;  but  there  is  no  necessit}^  for  re- 
sorting to  this  plea. 

"The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  in  Chicago  parents  of  all 
classes  very  generally  send  their  children  to  the  public  schools 
of  primary  and  grammar  grade,  but  that  when  these  children 
reach  the  high  school  grade  a  considerable  fraction  of  them  are 
taken  out  of  the  public  schools  and  sent  to  private  institutions. 
Hence,  as  far  as  any  class  distinction  of  patronage  exists  at  all, 
it  operates  in  the  direction  of  restricting  the  benefits  of  the  high 
schools  to  the  poorer  classes,  of  making  them,  in  the  phrase  of 
a  popular  rhetoric,  the  'poor  man's  colleges.'  Moreover,  the 
high  schools  of  a  compact  and  well-organized  system  like  that 
of  Chicago  are  in  a  very  real  sense  the  most  important  part  of 
the  whole.  They  not  only  perform  the  usual  function  of  higher 
schools  in  holding  up  the  lower  schools  to  a  fair  standard  of 
efficiency,  in  acting  as  the  keystone  of  the  whole  educational 
arch  ;  but  they  also  perfomi  the  far  more  important  service  of 
training  for  their  work  nearly  all  the  teachers  of  the  lower 
grades.  The  expanding  educational  system  of  Chicago  requires 
every  year  some  three  or  four  hundred  new  teachers,  and  the 
great  majority  of  them  are  selected  from  the  graduates  of  the 
high  schools.  With  this  fact  in  view,  it  is  simply  amazing  that 
anyone  should  seriously  think  the  high-school  system  of  the 
city  either  unimportant  or  ornamental,  that  anyone  having 
the  interests  of  education  at  heart  should  not  realize  that  a 
weakening  of  the  high-school  work  would  be  the  most  serious 
disaster  possible,  making  its  unfortunate  consequences  felt, 
not  merely  at  the  time  when  it  occurred,  but  for  long  years  to 
come."  ' 

Refutation  is  more  difficult  than  constructive  reason- 
ing.    It  must  often  be  clone  without  time  for  prepara- 
tion.    It  involves  a  thorough  biowledge  of 
the  case  from  the  adversary's  point  of  view.  Refutation. 
It   uivolves   a  careful   and   critical    analysis 
of  his  arguments  with  their  bearings,  as  he  sees  them. 

1  The  Dial  March,  18%. 


214  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

It  involves  an  estimate  of  all  tlie  evidence  in  the  case 
from  his  side,  an  estimate  of  his  notion  of  the  char- 
acter of  those  to  be  convinced,  and  a  forecast  of  the  ef- 
fect which  he  expects  to  be  produced  upon  them  by 
the  evidence.  The  refuter  must  be  quick  to  detect 
what  is  irrefutable,  and  shrewd  enough  to  let  it  alone  or 
balance  it  with  what  is  irrefutable  on  his  side.  He  must 
be  ready  with  telling  arguments  to  meet  what  is  refut- 
able, be  dexterous  m  applying  them,  and  know  just 
when  to  stop. 

VI.    PERSUASION. 

In  matters  involving  abstract  truths,  in  mathematics, 
pure  science,  and  in  mere  matters  of  historic  fact,  the 
work  of  argumentation  is  complete  when  proofs  have 

been  so  presented  as  to  induce  the  desired 
and  luustra-  belief  in  those  addressed.     Such  truths  have 

little  or  nothmg  to  do  with  human  conduct. 
They  are  addressed  to  the  mtellect  and  their  effect  is 
only  mtellectual.  In  discussing  matters  mvolving  the 
du^ection  of  human  conduct,  it  is  not  usually  sufficient 
to  convince  the  understanding.  Men  accept  a  truth, 
and  ignore  it  in  their  actions,  or  they  act  mconsistently 
with  it,  or  even  in  defiance  of  it.  To  direct  the  conduct 
of  those  addressed,  the  writer  or  speaker  must  so  apjoeal 
to  their  emotions,  so  arouse  feelmg,  as  to  mduce  a  wil- 
lingness to  carry  conviction  into  action.  This  is  called 
Persuasion,  and  m  arguments  upon  human  affairs  is 
almost  invariably  combmed  with  conviction.  Huxley 
aims  only  to  overthrow  error  and  establish  truth.  After 
the  somewhat  persuasive  introduction,  his  discourse  is, 
therefore,  addressed   to  the  intellect  of   his   audience. 


PERSUASION.  215 

Both  Webster  and.  Burke  aim  to  secure  action,  —  one 
the  verdict  of  a  jury,  the  other  the  decision  of  parlia- 
ment ;  they  therefore  combme  persuasion  with  argument, 
and  appeal  to  the  humanity,  sympathy,  sense  of  duty, 
sense  of  justice  and  self  mterest  of  those  addressed. 
Brutus 's  speech*  1  is  a  cold,  dry,  intellectual  address  to 
the  reason  of  his  hearers,  and  chills  them  into  a  contmu- 
ance  of  their  inactivity.  Antony's  speech  ^  is  argumen- 
tative at  the  begmning,  but  becomes  more  and  more 
purely  persuasive,  and  appeals  to  national  pride,  pity 
and  sympathy  for  Csesar  and  hatred  for  his  murderers,  as 
well  as  cupidity  and  revenge ;  and  it  uiflames  the  mob 
to  violence  for  wdiich  they  can  give  no  better  excuse 
than  "  His  name  is  China."  With  such  arguments  as 
satisf}^  the  understandmg,  an  ideal  argumentative  dis- 
course would  combme  such  appeal  to  the  emotions  as 
must  result  m  action  m  accordance  with  the  belief  m- 
duced.     But  the  ideal  is  rarely  realized. 

Persuasion  is  an  accom]3animent  and  supplement  to 
conviction,  but  cannot  honestly  be  substituted  for  it. 
Appeal  to  feeling  is  an  essential  process  of  complete 
argumentation ;  but  it  must  follow  evidence.  Relation  of 
not  replace  it.  The  logical  order  of  address  ^nd'convfc- 
is  first  to  the  understanding,  then  to  the  emo-  tion. 
tions,  and  through  these  to  volition  terminatmg  m 
action.  We  first  know,  then  feel,  then  will,  then  act. 
''Emotion  is  conditioned  on  appreliensicm,  volition  on 
emotion,  action  on  volition."  The  business  of  persua- 
sive discourse  is  to  arouse  to  action.  Just  as  exposition 
presupposes  a  degree  of  ignorance,  and  argumentation 
assumes  tliat  there  is  disbelief  or  error;   so  persuasion 

1  Page  00.  2  Page  00. 


216  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

takes  for  granted  indifference,  inaction,  or  action  in  a 
wrong  direction.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however, 
that  persuasion  may  be  used  to  misdirect  action,  unless 
as  the  basis  of  action  there  is  a  well-grounded  belief. 

Fact  should  precede  and  awaken  feelmg.  No  feelmg 
has  any  warrant  either  m  speaker  or  auditor,  except  the 
fact  which  arouses  it.    "  The  more  the  empt}-  head  glows 

and  burns,  the  more  hollow  and  tlim  and  dr}' 
FeeUng.*        it  grows."  ^     Webster's  appeals,  whether  for 

his  whole  case  or  for  any  part  of  it,  follow 
substantial  reasons.  He  both  announces  and  illustrates 
this  prmciple  in  a  paragraph  often  quoted :  — 

"  Sir,  the  great  interest  of  this  country,  the  producing  cause 
of  all  its  j)rosperity,  is  labour  !  labour  !  labour  !  We  are  a 
labouring  community.  Avast  majority  of  us  all  live  by  industry 
and  actual  occupation  in  some  of  their  forms.  The  Constitu- 
tion was  made  to  protect  this  industry,  to  give  it  both  encour- 
agement and  security  ;  but,  above  all,  security.  To  that  very 
end,  and  Avith  that  precise  object  in  view,  power  was  given  to 
Congress  over  the  currency,  and  over  the  money  system  of  the 
country.  In  forty  years'  experience,  we  have  found  nothing 
at  all  adequate  to  the  beneficial  execution  of  this  trust  but  a 
well-conducted  national  bank.  That  has  been  tried,  returned 
to,  tried  again,  and  alwaj's  found  successful.  If  it  be  not  the 
proper  thing  for  us,  let  it  be  soberly  argued  against ;  let  some- 
thing better  be  proposed  ;  let  the  country  examine  the  matter 
coolly,  and  decide  for  itself.  But  whoever  shall  attempt  to 
carry  a  question  of  this  kind  by  clamor  and  violence  and  preju- 
dice ;  whoever  would  rouse  the  people  by  appeals,  false  and 
fraudulent  appeals,  to  their  love  of  independence,  to  resist  the 
establishment  of  a  useful  institution,  because  it  is  a  bank,  and 
deals  in  money,  and  who  artfully  urges  these  appeals  wherever 
he  thinks  there  is  more  of  honest  feeling  than  of  enlightened 
judgment,  —  means  nothing  but  deception.     And  whoever  has 

1  Phillips  Brooks,  Lectures  on  Preaching,  5. 


PEE  SUASION.  217 

the  wickedness  to  conceive,  and  the  hardihood  to  avow,  a  pur- 
pose to  break  down  what  has  been  found,  in  forty  years'  exper- 
ience, essential  to  the  protection  of  all  interests,  by  arraying 
one  class  against  another,  and  b}'  acting  on  such  a  principle  as 
that  the  poor  always  hate  the  rich,  shows  himself  the  reckless 
enemy  of  all.  An  enemy  to  his  whole  country,  to  all  classes, 
and  to  every  man  in  it,  he  deserves  to  be  marked  especially  as 
the  poor  man's  curse  /  "  ' 

Burke  is  persuasive  rather  than  argumentative  when 
he  points  out  the  influence  which  the  spirit  of  the  British 
Constitution  must  exert  upon  the  Colonies :  — 

"My  hold  of  the  Colonies  is  in  the  close  affection  which  grows 
from  common  names,  from  kindred  blood,  from  Bm-^e's 
similar  privileges,  and  equal  protection.  These  Persuasive- 
are  ties  which,  though  light  as  air,  are  as  strong  as  ^®^®' 
links  of  iron.  Let  the  Colonists  always  keep  the  idea  of  their 
civil  rights  associated  with  your  government, —  they  will  cling 
and  grapple  to  you,  and  no  force  under  heaven  will  be  of  power 
to  tear  them  from  their  allegiance.  But  let  it  be  once  under- 
stood that  your  government  may  be  one  thing,  and  their  privi- 
leges another,  that  these  two  things  may  exist  without  any 
mutual  relation,  the  cement  is  gone  —  the  cohesion  is  loosened 
—  and  everything  hastens  to  decay  and  dissolution.  .Vs  long 
as  you  have  the  wisdom  to  keep  the  sovereign  authorit}'  of  this 
country  as  the  sanctuary  of  liberty,  the  sacred  temple  conse- 
crated to  our  common  faith,  wherever  the  chosen  race  and  sons 
of  England  worship  freedom,  they  will  turn  their  faces  towards 
j'ou.  The  more  they  nudtiply,  the  more  friends  you  Avill  have; 
the  more  ardently  they  love  liberty,  the  more  perfect  will  be 
their  obedience.  Slavery  they  can  have  anywhere  —  it  is  a 
weed  that  grows  in  every  soil.  They  may  have  it  from  Spain; 
they  may  have  it  from  Prussia.  But,  until  you  become  lost  to 
all  feeling  of  your  true  interest  and  your  natural  dignity,  free- 
dom they  can  have  from  none  but  you.     This  is  the  connnodity 

1  Great  Speeches,  3G1.    Compare  with  campaign  speech,  page  104. 


218  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATION. 

of  price  of  which  you  have  the  monopoly.  This  is  the  true 
Act  of  Navigation  which  binds  to  you  the  commerce  of 
the  Colonies,  and  through  them  secures  to  you  the  wealth 
of  the  world.  Deny  them  this  participation  of  freedom,  and 
you  break  that  sole  bond  which  originally  made,  and  must 
still  preserve,  the  unity  of  the  Empire.  Do  not  entertain  so 
weak  an  imagination  as  that  your  registers  and  your  bonds, 
your  affidavits  and  your  sufferances,  your  cockets  and  your 
clearances,  are  what  form  the  great  securities  of  your  com- 
merce. Do  not  dream  that  your  letters  of  office,  and  your 
instructions,  and  your  suspending  clauses,  are  the  things  that 
hold  together  the  great  contexture  of  the  mysterious  whole. 
These  things  do  not  make  jour  government.  Dead  instru- 
ments, passive  tools  as  they  are,  it  is  the  spirit  of  the  Eng- 
lish communion  that  gives  all  their  life  and  efficacy  to  them. 
It  is  the  spirit  of  the  English  Constitution  which,  infused 
through  the  mighty  mass,  pervades,  feeds,  unites,  invigorates, 
vivifies  every  part  of  the  Empire,  even  down  to  the  minutest 
member."  * 

Here  reasons  are  stated,  but  they  are  stated  iii  such 
a  way  as  to  appeal  to  the  heart  as  well  as  the  head,  to 
arouse  sympathy  and  generosity  as  well  as  self-love  and 
patriotism ;  they  are  so  presented  as  to  stimulate  gener- 
ous impulse  rather  than  compel  assent. 

The  personality  of  the  speaker,  his  complete  identifi- 
cation with  his  cause,  his  perfect  alliance  with  those 
addressed  in  a  common  cause,  Ids  recognized  leadership 
sometimes  warrant  his  making  a  direct  per- 
A^"ei^  sonal  appeal.  "His  merited  rank,  liis  supe- 
rior eloquence,  his  splendid  qualities,  his 
eminent  services,  the  vast  sj^ace  he  fills  in  the  eye  of 
mankind,"  justify  an  exhortation  to  a  certain  state  of 
mmd  and  consequent  course  of  action.     This  is  illus- 

^  Select  Works,  1.231. 


PERSUASION.  219 

trated  in  Webster's  Address  at  the  Laying  of  the  Corner 
Stone  of  the  Addition  to  the  Capitol} 

Persuasion  maj  aim  at  individual  action  or  at  joint 
action.  The  lawyer  must  often  direct  his  efforts  to 
a  single  juryman.  Choate  is  said  to  have  talked  for 
hours  to  the  hard-hearted  foreman  of  a  jury. 
The  preacher,  the  legislator  or  the  political  persuasion 
orator,  may  aim  to  secure  either  "  the  action 
of  man  as  man,  acting  under  his  individual  responsi- 
bilities, or  those  joint  measures  by  which  communities 
determine  and  regulate  their  conduct."  But  persuasive 
efforts  are  not  confined  to  the  jury  box,  the  pew,  the 
legislative  hall;  the  whole  sphere  of  duty,  interest, 
privilege,  conduct,  justice,  is  open  to  its  work.  It  is 
employed  by  the  statesman  and  diplomat  to  secure  the 
perpetuation  of  national  institutions ;  it  is  used  by  the 
book-agent  and  lightning-rod  j)eddler  in  disposmg  of 
their  wares ;  its  power  is  exercised  to  wm  a  bride  or 
to  carry  an  election. 

Persuasion  was  formerly  confined  entirely,  as  it  is  now 
for  the  most  part,  to  oral  address.  It  presupposes  an 
auditor  or  an  audience.  The  orator  has  before  him  those 
whom  he  is  to  persuade.     He  feels  their  pulse,  „ 

^  .     .        Persuasion 

reads  their  faces,  endures  their  hisses  or  is  in-  Supposes  an 
spu-ed  by  their  ap^^lause.  While  he  is  pre- 
paring his  speech  in  advance,  all  this  must  be  present  to 
him ;  and  even  he  who  would  persuade  through  the  editor- 
ial coluimi  or  the  magazine  article,  must  m  imagination 
have  before  him  the  class  addressed,  and  seem  to  look 
them  m  the  eye,  command  their  attention,  work  on  their 
feelings,  and  use  the  expedients  of  one  actually  l)efoi'e 
them.     The  relation  of  ^vriting  to  spoken  argument  or 

1  Great  Speeches,  640. 


220  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATION. 

persuasive  discourse,  is  thus  expressed  by  Mr.  Choate : — 
'^  I  am  not  to  forget  that  I  am,  and  must  be,  if  I  would 
live,  a  student  of  forensic  rhetoric.  A  wide  and  anx- 
ious survey  of  that  art  and  that  science,  teaches  me 
that  careful,  constant  writmg  is  the  parent  of  ripe 
speech.  It  has  no  other.  But  that  writing  must  always 
be  rhetorical  writing,  that  is,  such  as  might  m  some 
23arts  of  some  speech  be  uttered  to  a  listening  audience. 
It  is  to  he  composed  as  in  and  for  the  presence  of  an 
audience,'^ 

Many  mfluences  tend  to  prevent  those  who  are  con- 
vinced, from  acting  upon  their  convictions.  Young 
people,  convinced  that  their  interests  demand  devotion 

to  study,  still  "  fleet  the  time  carelessly " ; 
Persuas^n*    or,  convinced  that  both   duty   and  personal 

advantage  favor  membership  m  a  church, 
yet  through  dislike  of  restramt  they  form  no  church 
connection.  A  horror  of  the  death  penalty  deters  a 
juryman  from  joming  in  a  verdict  of  "guilty,"  though 
he  is  certam  the  prisoner  has  committed  the  capital  crime. 
People  know  that  health  depends  upon  exercise,  temper- 
ance m  diet,  and  regularity  m  habits ;  but  they  stagnate 
m  libraries  and  offices,  mdulge  in  excesses,  and  live  no 
two  days  alike.  So  those  to  whom  arguments  are  ad- 
dressed and  who  accept  the  truths  proposed,  for  various 
reasons  fail  to  act  on  those  truths.  The  claims  of  a  be- 
nevolent enterprise  are  so  presented  as  to  convince  nine 
tenths  of  the  audience ;  and  yet  eight  tenths  fail  to  con- 
tribute. Conviction  reaches  the  hitellect  but  not  the 
purse.  Argument  compels  assent  but  not  a  contribu- 
tion ;  it  convuices  of  the  truth  of  religion,  but  does  not 
impel  men  "to  go  sell  all  they  have  and  give  to  the 
poor."     The  charity  that  begms  at  home  possesses  the 


PERSUASION.  221 

deepest  interest ;  and  until  this  feeling  is  overcome,  un- 
til a  vital  interest  is  engendered  in  the  subject  presented, 
cold  logic  is  vain.  The  speaker's  work  is  hicomplete  imtil 
"  he  has  so  presented  his  subject  that  it  takes  entire  pos- 
session of  the  mmd,  and  operates  upon  it  with  such  en- 
ergy as  to  arouse  emotions  which  control  the  will." 

Beecher's  logic  would  never  have  gained  him  a  hear- 
ing at  Liverpool.  It  was  Webster's  supreme  power  of 
persuasion  that  gave  him  the  decision  m  the  celebrated 
Dartmouth  College  Case.  Franklin  was  not 
easily  made  to  change  his  opmion ;  but  White- 
field's  marvelous  persuasive  power  unsettled  even  that 
hard-headed  philosopher's  firm  conviction  and  wrmig 
from  him  his  last  coin.     This  is  Franklm's  story :  — 

"  The  sight  of  their  miserable  situation  inspired  the  benevo- 
lent heart  of  Mr.  Whitefield  with  the  idea  of  building  an  Orphan 
House  there,  [in  Georgia]  in  which  the}^  might  be  supported 
and  educated.  Eeturning  northward,  he  preached  up  this 
charity  and  made  large  collections,  for  his  eloquence  had  a 
wonderful  power  over  the  hearts  and  purses  of  his  hearers,  of 
which  I  myself  was  an  instance. 

'•'  I  did  not  disapprove  of  the  design,  but  as  Georgia  was  then 
destitute  of  materials  and  workmen  and  it  was  proposed  to  send 
them  from  Philadelphia  at  a  great  expense,  I  thought  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  built  the  house  here  and  brought  the 
children  to  it.  This  I  advised;  but  he  was  resolute  in  his  first 
project,  rejected  my  counsel  and  I  therefore  refused  to  con- 
tribute. 1  happened  soon  after  to  attend  one  of  his  sermons, 
in  the  course  of  which  I  perceived  he  intended  to  finish  with  a 
collection,  and  I  silently  resolved  he  should  get  nothing  from 
me.  I  had  in  my  pocket  a  handful  of  copper  money,  three  or 
four  silver  dollars,  and  five  pistoles  in  gold.  As  he  proceeded 
I  began  to  soften  and  concluded  to  give  the  coppers.  Another 
stroke  of  his  oratory  made  me  ashamed  of  that  and  determined 
me  to  give  the  silver;  and   he  finished  so  admirably  that  I 


222  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATIOX. 

emptied  my  pocket  wholl}^  into  the  collector's  dish,  gold  and 
all.'' ' 

In  this  case  persuasion  did  not  take  the  place  of  ar- 
gument, but  supplemented  it,  completed  it,  and  enabled 
the  speaker  to  achieve  what  with  argument  alone  he 
could  not  compass.  Franklm  did  not  act  contrary  to 
reason  nor  without  reason,  but  agamst  the  conclusions 
of  his  former  reasonings,  which  under  the  power  of 
Whitefiekrs  persuasive  argument  were  overcome. 

The  hearer,  having  a  clear  idea  of  the  aim  and  nature 
of  the  proposed  action,  is  to  be  impelled  towards  its 
performance.  He  must  be  shown  its  necessary  connec- 
tion  with  his  own  mterest  or  happiness  or 
Principles  duty.  His  personal  desire  must  be  aroused, 
and  he  must  be  made  to  feel  that  this  action 
will  satisfy  that  desire.  Sympathies  must  be  touched, 
fears  excited,  ambitions  stirred,  hopes  awakened,  hatred 
kmdled,  any  noble  passion  fired  and  directed,  that  will 
find  relief  m  the  desired  action.  It  must  always  be  re- 
membered, however,  that  serious  action  must  not  be  the 
result  of  persuasion  alone ;  if  action  mvolves  important 
interests,  labor  or  self-sacrifice,  it  must  have  a  foun- 
dation in  solid  conviction.  He  who  appeals  to  passions 
when  he  should  be  arguing,  explammg  and  illustrating, 
"  either  lacks  knowledge  or  has  no  serious  belief  in  what 
he  proposes. "  ^ 

When  it  is  said  that  argument  should  precede  ap- 
peal, that  conviction  should  lead  up  to  per- 
Persuasion.     suasion,  it  is  not  meant  that  all  the  body  of 
argument  should  be  presented  before  any  ap- 
peal is  made  or  any  persuasion  is  used.     The  work  of 

1  Franklin's  Autohloyraphy,  137.  spages  104,  217. 


PERSUASION.  223 

persuasion  may  be  partly  done  in  the  introduction,  i  se- 
cui'ing  a  favorable  reception  of  the  speaker  or  of  his 
theme ;  or  it  may  pervade  the  whole  body  of  his  discourse, 
determmmg  what  arguments  shall  be  presented,  and  m 
what  order  and  by  what  method  they  shall  be  presented. 
It  may  follow  and  complete  the  work  of  individual  ar- 
guments or  groups  of  arguments.  It  may  follow  the 
whole  body  of  argument,  ^  energizmg  and  carrymg  home 
the  conclusion. 

The  exordium  must  frequently  be  more  than  a  mere 
introduction ;  ^  it  must  "  reddei^e  aiiditores  benevolos,  at- 
tentos^  docilesy  ^  It  must  be  winning,  conciliatory,  stim- 
ulatmg  ;  it  must  allay  fears,  invite  confidence.  ^ 

^  ,  .  Persuasion 

Webster's  introductions  are  often  persuasive,  in  the  Exor- 
The  introduction  to  his  argument  at  the 
White  murder  trial  is  a  model.^  Burke  is  more  con- 
ciliatory than  usual  in  the  introduction  to  his  Speech  on 
Conciliation.  Pie  usually  lacks  Webster's  tact  in  the 
opening  passages  of  his  speeches.  "  Edmund  Burke 
would  have  been  pronounced  by  the  cautious  and  pains- 
taking orators  of  the  ancient  world,  a  fool  for  his  reck- 
lessness of  all  expedients  of  conciliation  in  the  introduc- 
tions of  many  of  his  parliamentary  addresses.  He 
aggravated  hostility  by  defying  it.  He  often  produced 
it  by  invitmg  it.  He  gave  occasion  for  it  by  assuming 
its  existence  and  answermg  it  in  kind.  On  one  occasion 
he  said,  '  jVIr.  Speaker,  I  rise  under  some  embarrassment 
occasioned  by  a  feeling  of  delicacy  towards  one  half  of 
the  house,  and  of  sovereign  contempt  for  the  other  half.' 
Cicero  would  have  pronounced  him  a  savage."  ^     When 

1  Pages  fMO.  -  I'ages  253,  2G3,  2(J7.  3  Page  6.  •*  Cicero. 

5  See  pages  1),  00.  *>  Phelps,  Lectures  on  Preaching,  225. 


224  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

from  the  technicality  of  his  subject,  a  speaker  feels  that 
his  discussion  may  seem  diy  and  dull,  he  may  partly 
anticipate  and  overcome  any  lack  of  mterest  on  the  part 
of  the  audience,  by  a  persuasive  mtroduction.  Huxley 
does  this  in  the  beginning  of  his  Three  Lectures  on 
Evolution :  — 

"  AVe  live  and  form  part  of  a  system  of  things  of  immense 
diversity  and  perplexity,  which  we  call  nature  ;  and  it  is  a 
matter  of  the  deepest  interest  to  all  that  we  should  form  just 
conceptions  of  the  constitution  of  that  system  and  of  its  past 
history.  With  relation  to  this  universe,  man  is,  in  extent,  little 
more  than  a  mathematical  point ;  in  duration  but  a  fleeting 
shadow  ;  he  is  a  mere  reed  shaken  in  the  winds  of  force.  But, 
as  Pascal  long  ago  remarked,  although  a  mere  reed,  he  is  a 
thinking  reed  ;  and  in  virtue  of  that  wonderful  capacity  of 
thought,  he  has  the  power  of  framing  for  himself  a  symbolic 
conception  of  the  universe,  which,  although  doubtless  highly 
imperfect  and  inadequate  as  a  picture  of  the  great  whole,  is 
yet  sufficient  to  serve  him  as  a  chart  for  the  guidance  of  his 
practical  affairs.  It  has  taken  long  ages  of  toilsome  and  often 
fruitless  labor  to  enable  man  to  look  steadily  at  the  shifting 
scenes  of  the  phantasmagoria  of  Xature,  to  notice  what  is  fixed 
among  her  fluctuations,  and  what  is  regular  among  her  ap- 
parent irregularities  ;  and  it  is  only  comparatively  lately,  with- 
in the  last  few  centuries,  that  the  conception  of  a  universal 
order  and  of  a  definite  course  of  things,  which  we  term  the 
course  of  Kature,  has  emerged. 

"  But,  once  originated,  the  conception  of  the  constancy  of 
the  order  of  ligature  has  become  the  dominant  idea  of  modern 
thought.  To  any  person  who  is  familiar  with  the  facts  upon 
which  that  conception  is  based,  and  is  competent  to  estimate 
their  significance,  it  has  ceased  to  be  conceivable  that  chance 
should  have  any  place  in  the  universe,  or  that  events  should 
depend  upon  any  but  the  natural  sequence  of  cause  and  effect. 
AVe  have  come  to  look  upon  the  present  as  the  child  of  the 
past  and  as  the  parent  of  the  future  ;  and,  as  we  have  excluded 


PERSUASION.  225 

chance  from  a  place  in  the  universe,  so  we  ignore,  even  as  a 
possibihty,  the  notion  of  any  interference  with  the  order  of 
Nature.  Whatever  may  be  men's  speculative  doctrines,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  every  intelligent  person  guides  his  life  and 
risks  his  fortune  upon  the  belief  that  the  order  of  Nature  is 
constant,  and  that  the  chain  of  natural  causation  is  never 
broken. 

"  In  fact,  no  belief  which  we  entertain  has  so  complete  a 
logical  basis  as  that  to  which  I  have  just  referred.  It  tacitly 
underlies  every  process  of  reasoning  ;  it  is  the  foundation  of 
every  act  of  the  will.  It  is  based  upon  the  broadest  induction, 
and  it  is  verified  by  the  most  constant,  regular,  and  universal  of 
deductive  processes.  But  we  must  recollect  that  any  human 
belief,  however  broad  its  basis,  however  defensible  it  may 
seem,  is,  after  all,  only  a  probable  belief,  and  that  our  widest 
and  safest  generalizations  are  simply  statements  of  the  highest 
degree  of  probability.  Though  we  are  quite  clear  about  the 
constancy  of  the  order  of  Nature,  at  the  present  time,  and  in 
the  present  state  of  things,  it  by  no  means  necessarily  follows 
that  we  are  justified  in  expanding  this  generalization  into  the 
infinite  past,  and  in  denying,  absolutely,  that  there  may  have 
been  a  time  when  Nature  did  not  follow  a  fixed  order,  Avhen 
the  relations  of  cause  and  effect  were  not  definite,  and  when 
extra-natural  agencies  interfered  with  the  general  course  of 
Nature.  Cautious  men  will  allow  that  a  universe  so  different 
from  that  which  we  know  may  have  existed  ;  just  as  a  very 
candid  thinker  may  admit  that  a  world  in  which  two  and  two 
do  not  make  four,  and  in  which  two  straight  lines  do  enclose 
a  space,  may  exist.  But  the  same  caution  which  forces  the 
admission  of  such  possibilities  demands  a  great  deal  of  evidence 
before  it  recognizes  them  to  be  anything  more  substantial. 
And  when  it  is  asserted  that,  so  many  thousand  years  ago, 
events  occurred  in  a  manner  utterly  foreign  to  and  inconsistent 
with  the  existing  laws  of  Nature,  men  who,  without  being  par- 
ticularly cautious,  are  simply  honest  thinkers,  unwilling  to 
deceive  themselves  or  delude  others,  ask  for  trustworthy  evi- 
dence of  the  fact. 

"  Did  things  so  happen,  or  did  they  not  ?     This  is  an  histori- 


226  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

cal  question,  and  one  the  answer  to  which  must  be  sought  in 
the  same  way  as  the  solution  of  any  other  liistorical  problem.'" 

If  a  speaker  is  unknown,  or  known  unfavorably;  if 
he  represents  a  client,  a  party,  an  idea  or  a  cause,  against 
which  there  is  i:)rejudice ;  if  for  any  reason  he  may 
expect  an  unfriendly  reception ;  if  his  fitness 
Hostm^*^^  to  represent  his  cause  is  questioned,  —  he 
will  need  to  exercise  his  power  of  persuasion 
to  secure  an  impartial  hearing  for  his  arguments.^  The 
extent  to  which  narration,  description,  exposition  and 
persuasion  may  enter  into  an  introduction,  depends 
upon  things  known  only  to  the  speaker.  He  is  expected 
to  know  himself,  his  subject,  and  his  occasion ;  and 
knowing  these,  he  must  adapt  his  mtroduction  to  the 
bringing  of  the  three  into  the  proper  relation. 

Persuasion  may  be  diffused  throughout  the  body  of 
the  discourse.  The  character  of  evidence  presented,  or 
the  method  in  which  it  is  presented,  or  some  peculiar 
Persuasion  circumstance  connected  with  it,  may  afford 
th^i?^^°^^  opportunity  for  appeal  m  behalf  of  the  cause, 
course.  the  speaker  or  some  vital  principle  mvolved 

in  the  discussion.  The  skillful  arguer  seldom  fails  to  give 
to  evidence,  reference,  illustration,  and  allusion,  a  turn 
personal  to  his  audience.  In  this  way  he  seeks  to  con- 
nect what  he  is  presentmg,  with  their  mdividual  charac- 
ter, interests,  duties  or  pleasure,  and  thus  touch  their 
hearts  while  addressing  their  reason. 

As  Webster  is  developing  his  arguments  or  immediately 
upon  closing  an  argument,  he  often  finds  somethmg  sug- 
gested to  stir  the  emotions  of  jury  or  audience.  "  Did 
you,  gentlemen,  sleep  quite  as  quietly  in  your  beds  after 

1  Amencan  Addresses,  1-4.  2  Pages  6-8. 


PERSUASION.  227 

this  murder  as  before  ?  "  ^  "  We  liope  it  (your  decision) 
will  be  a  precedent  both  of  candor  and  intelligence,  of 
fairness  and  of  firmness,  of  good  sense  and  honest  pur- 
pose, pursuinsf  their  mvestie^ation  discreetly."  ^ 

A   1      •.  .1     Ai  •      •  .  T  .-11   .1  .     niustrations. 

'*  Admit  that  this  is  extraordinary ;  still  this 

does  not  prove  it  untrue.  It  is  extraordmary  that  3'ou 
t^yelve  gentlemen,  out  of  all  the  men  in  the  country, 
should  be  called  upon  to  decide  this  case ;  no  one  could 
have  foretold  this  three  weelvs  smce."  ^  "I  come  now  to 
the  testimony  of  the  father.  Unfortunate  old  man  !  An- 
other Lear  hi  the  conduct  of  his  children.  Another  Lear, 
I  apprehend,  m  the  effect  of  his  distress  upon  his  mind 
and  understanding."  ^  "  It  is  a  point  on  which  each  one 
of  you  might  reason  like  a  Hale  or  a  Mansfield." ^  "I 
would  gladly  find  an  apology  for  that  witness  in  his  ago- 
nized feelmgs  ;  in  his  distressed  situation ;  in  the  agitation 
of  that  hour  and  of  this  ;  .  .  .  but  even  in  a  case  calling 
for  so  much  sympathy,  justice  must  yet  prevail,  and  we 
must  come  to  the  conclusion,  however,  reluctantly,  which 
that  demands  from  us."^  Webster's  congressional  ad- 
dresses and  especially  those  on  the  Constitution,  as  well 
as  his  political  speeches,  abound  in  persuasive  passages 
and  strong  appeals  followmg  the  arguments  out  of  which 
they  grow.  In  the  speech  on  The  Appointing  and  Re- 
moving Poivei\  a  speech  spoken  of  as  ''  entirely  mtel- 
lectual,  passionless  and  impersonal,"  after  arguing  the 
evils  from  the  growth  of  this  power,  he  appeals  to  con- 
gressmen as  witnesses  of  its  evil  effects :  — 

"  I  would  a.sk  eveiy  member  of  the  Senate  if  he  does  not  per- 
ceive daily,  effects  which  may  be  traced  fairl}"  to  this  cause. 
Does  he  not  see  a  union  of  purpose,  a  devotion  to  power,  a  co- 

1  Page  285.  2  Page  289.  s  Page  299.  ^  Page  317.  5  Page  321.  ^  Page  332. 


228  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

operation  in  action,  among  all  who  hold  office,  quite  unknown 
in  the  earlier  jDcriods  of  the  government  ?  Does  he  not  behold 
every  hour,  a  stronger  development  of  the  principle  of  personal 
attachment  and  a  corresponding  diminution  of  genuine  and 
generous  public  feeling  ?  Was  indiscriminate  support  of  party 
measures,  was  unw^avering  fealty,  was  regular  suit  and  service, 
ever  before  esteemed  such  essential  and  important  parts  of 
official  duty  ?"  ^ 

In  Burke's  Speech  on  Coyiciliation  the  six  arguments 
for  the  spirit  of  liberty,^  as  well  as  the  paragraph  intro- 
ducing them  and  preceding  the  arguments  against  force^  ^ 
are  persuasive  as  well  as  convmcing.  The  paragraph 
leading  to  a  discussion  of  his  specific  policy  closes  with 
persuasion  :  — 

"  The  question  with  me  is,  not  whether  you  have  a  right  to 
render  your  people  miserable,  but  whether  it  is  not  your  in- 
terest to  make  them  happy.  It  is  not  what  a  lawyer  tells  me  I 
may  do,  but  what  humanity,  reason,  and  justice  tell  me  I  ought 
to  do.  Is  a  politic  act  the  worse  for  being  a  generous  one  ?  Is 
EO  concession  proper  but  that  which  is  made  from  your  want 
of  right  to  keep  what  you  grant  ?  Or  does  it  lessen  the  grace 
or  dignity  of  relaxing  in  the  exe'rcise  of  an  odious  claim  because 
j'ou  have  your  evidence-room  full  of  titles,  and  your  magazines 
stuffed  with  arms  to  enforce  them?  What  signify  all  those 
titles,  and  all  those  arms  ?  Of  what  avail  are  they,  when  the 
reason  of  the  thing  tells  me  that  the  assertion  of  my  title  is  the 
loss  of  my  suit,  and  that  I  could  do  nothing  but  wound  myself 
by  the  use  of  my  own  weapons  ?  "  ^ 

He  uses  persuasive  argument  when  meeting  objections 
to  his  resolutions  :  — 

"  'Remove  the  cause  of  this  complaint  and  other  complaints 
will  rise,'  they  say. 

"  I  do  not  know  that  the  Colonies  have,  in  anj-  general  way, 
or  in  any  cool  hour,  gone  much  beyond  the  demand  of  humanity 

1  Great  Speeches,  39().  2  Select  Works,  I.  17G.  3  page  25. 

4  Select  Works,  I.  196. 


PERSUASION.  229 

in  relation  to  taxes.  It  is  not  fair  to  judge  of  the  temper  or 
disposition  of  any  man,  or  any  set  of  men,  wlien  they  are  com- 
posed and  at  rest,  from  their  conduct  or  their  expressions  in  a 
state  of  disturbance  and  irritation.  It  is  besides  a  veiy  great 
mistake  to  imagine  that  mankind  follow  up  practically  any 
speculative  principle,  either  of  government  or  of  freedom,  as 
far  as  it  will  go  in  argument  and  logical  illation.  We  English- 
men stop  very  sliort  of  the  principles  upon  Avhich  we  support 
any  given  part  of  our  Constitution,  or  even  the  whole  of  it  to- 
gether. I  could  easily,  if  I  had  not  already  tired  you,  give  you 
very  striking  and  convincing  instances  of  it.  This  is  nothing 
but  what  is  natural  and  proper.  All  government,  indeed  every 
human  benefit  and  enjoyment,  every  virtue,  and  every  prudent 
act,  is  founded  on  compromise  and  barter.  We  balance  incon- 
veniences ;  Ave  give  and  take  ;  we  remit  some  rights  that  we 
may  enjoy  others  ;  and  we  choose  rather  to  be  happy  citizens 
than  subtle  disputants.  As  we  must  give  away  some  natural 
liberty  to  enjoy  civil  advantages,  so  we  must  sacrifice  some 
civil  liberties  for  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  com- 
munion and  fellowship  of  a  great  empire.  But,  in  all  fair  deal- 
ings, the  thing  bought  must  bear  some  proportion  to  the  pur- 
chase paid.  Xo  one  will  barter  away  the  immediate  jewel  of  his 
soul.  Though  a  great  house  is  apt  to  make  slaves  haughty,  yet 
it  is  purchasing  a  part  of  the  artificial  importance  of  a  great  em- 
pire too  dear  to  pay  for  it  all  essential  rights  and  all  the  intrin- 
sic dignity  of  human  nature.  None  of  us  who  would  not  risk 
his  life  rather  than  fall  under  a  government  purely  arbitrary. 
But  although  there  are  some  amongst  us  who  think  our  Con- 
stitution wants  many  improvements  to  make  it  a  complete 
system  of  liberty,  perhaps  none  who  are  of  that  opinion  would 
think  it  right  to  aim  at  such  improvement  by  disturbing  his 
country,  and  risking  everything  that  is  dear  to  him.  In  every 
arduous  enterprise  we  consider  what  we  are  to  lose,  as  well  as 
what  we  are  to  gain  ;  and  the  more  and  better  stake  of  liberty 
every  people  possess,  the  less  they  will  hazard  in  a  vain  attempt 
to  make  it  more.     These  are  the  cords  of  man."  * 

1  Select  Works,  I.  221. 


230  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

The  work  of  persuasion  may  begin  with  the  first  sen- 
tence uttered,  as  in  some  of  Cicero's  orations ;  or  a 
speech  may  be  so  planned  that  throughout,  argument 

and  appeal  o^o  side  by  side  or  are  so  fused  that 
Persuasion  x  j.         o  j 

inthePero-  they  cannot  be  separated.  This  is  the  case 
in  some  of  Patrick  Henry's  speeches  and  in 
Beecher's  Liverpool  address.  Persuasion  may  also  be 
left  for  the  most  part,  or  wholly,  to  the  peroration.  After 
the  facts  have  been  j)resented,  and  the  whole  case  in  all 
its  bearings  has  been  sjDread  out  before  those  addressed, 
an  impassioned  appeal  is  made  to  stir  the  emotions  or 
excite  the  passions,  in  order  to  secure  the  desired  action. 
The  conclusion  of  Judge  Curtis's  speech  in  tlie  case 
of  Dr.  Helmhold,  whose  sanity  was  the  point  at  issue, 
involves  restatement,  characterization  and  appeal :  — 

"  The  proof  is  ended  and  the  story  is  told,  and  I  commit 

the  destiny  of  Dr.  Helmliold  to  his  indices.      God 
Illustrations.  .     „.  .^  ,  -^^    i    i  •      +       •       4.1 

m  His  providence  has  permitted  him  to  view  the 

terrible  calamities  b}'  which,  more  than  other  men,  he  has 

been  tried. 

"  He  rises  in  this  dark  hour  superior  to  the  machinations  of 
those  who  have  endeavored  to  destroy  him.  He  invokes  the 
administration  of  justice  and  the  protection  of  the  law.  In  his 
marvelous  career  how  vividly  do  we  see  depicted  the  uncer- 
tainty of  earthly  prosperity  and  grandeur. 

"  Of  obscure  origin,  by  his  industry,  energy  and  cajiacity  he 
founded  a  business  that  extorted  revenue  from  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  that  brought  him  a  golden  harvest,  as  the  reward 
of  a  commercial  enterprise  so  broad,  liberal  and  comprehensive 
that  while  it  had  its  origin  in  the  great  republic,  it  lost  not 
sight  of  the  remoter  realms  of  China,  and  the  people  dwelling 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges.  His  foes  have  stripped  him  of 
his  estate,  have  alienated  from  him  the  wife  of  his  bosom  and 
the  children  of  his  loins  ;  they  have  confined  him  in  those 
earthly  hells  —  the  asylums  for  the  insane  —  and  with  merciless 


PERSUASION.  231 

cruelty,  more  conspicuously  wicked  than  the  conduct  of  the 
unnatural  children  of  King  Lear,  they  have  sought  to  deprive 
him  of  his  reason,  and  send  a  madman's  soul  shrieking  to  the 
bar  of  God.  They  have  concentrated  upon  his  unhappy  exis- 
tence all  the  calamities  that  can  affect  the  human  species. 

"  Rescue  him,  gentlemen,  from  the  peril  of  despair  ;  and 
when  you  and  he  appear  before  the  infallible  judge,  you  will 
have  the  supreme  consolation  of  knowing  that  because  you 
turned  not  a  deaf  ear  to  the  voice  of  mercy  and  justice,  you 
are  not  forgotten  by  One  who  never  errs."  ' 

The  peroration  of  Burke's  opening  speech  at  the  trial 
of  Hastings,  and  the  much  more  impassioned  peroration 
of  the  closing  speech,^  are  of  this  kind.  The  first  is 
given  here :  — 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Commons  of  England,  I  charge  all  this 
villainy  upon  Warren  Hastings,  in  this  last  moment  of  my  ap- 
plication to  you. 

"My  Lords,  what  is  it  that  we  want  here  to  a  great  act  of 
national  justice?  Do  we  want  a  cause,  my  Lords?  You  have 
the  cause  of  oppressed  princes,  of  undone  women  of  the  first 
rank,  of  desolated  provinces,  and  of  wasted  kingdoms. 

"  Do  you  want  a  criminal,  my  Lords  ?  When  was  there  so 
much  iniquity  ever  laid  to  the  charge  of  any  one  ?  Xo,  my 
Lords,  you  must  not  look  to  punish  any  other  such  delinquent 
from  India.  Warren  Hastings  has  not  left  substance  enough 
in  India  to  nourish  such  another  delinquent. 

"  My  Lords,  is  it  a  prosecutor  you  want?  You  have  before 
you  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  as  prosecutors :  and  I  be- 
lieve, my  Lords,  that  the  Sun,  in  his  beneficent  progress  round 
the  world,  does  not  behold  a  more  glorious  sight  than  that  of 
men,  separated  from  a  remote  people  by  the  material  bounds 
and  barriers  of  Nature,  united  by  the  bond  of  a  social  and 
moral  connnunity  ;  all  the  Connnons  of  England  resenting,  as 
their  own,  the  indignities  and  cruelties  that  are  offered  to  all 
the  people  of  India. 

1  Modern  Jury  Trials,  OSS.  «  Page  2G7. 


232  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

"  Do  we  want  a  tribunal  ?  My  Lords,  no  exami3le  of  antiq- 
uity, nothing  in  the  modern  world,  nothing  in  the  range  of 
human  imagination,  can  supply  us  with  a  tribunal  like  this.  My 
Lords,  here  we  see  virtually,  in  the  mind's  eye,  that  sacred 
majesty  of  the  Crown,  under  whose  authority  you  sit,  and  whose 
power  you  exercise.  We  see  in  that  invisible  authority,  what 
we  all  feel  in  reality  and  life,  the  beneficent  powers  and  pro- 
tecting justice  of  his  Majest}'.  We  have  here  the  heir-apparent 
to  the  crown,  such  as  the  fond  wishes  of  the  people  of  England 
wish  an  heir-apparent  of  the  crown  to  be.  We  have  here  all 
the  branches  of  the  royal  family,  in  a  situation  between  majesty 
and  subjection,  between  the  sovereign  and  the  subject,  —  offer- 
ing a  pledge  in  that  situation  for  the  support  of  the  rights  of 
the  Crown  and  the  liberties  of  the  people,  both  which  extremi- 
ties they  touch.  My  Lords,  we  have  the  great  hereditary  peer- 
age here,  —  those  Avho  have  their  own  honour,  the  honour  of 
their  ancestors,  and  of  their  posterity,  to  guard,  and  who  will 
justify,  as  they  have  always  justified,  that  jDro vision  in  the 
Constitution  by  which  justice  is  made  an  hereditary  office. 
My  Lords,  we  have  here  a  new  nobility,  who  have  risen  and 
exalted  themselves  by  various  merits,  —  by  great  military  ser- 
vices which  have  extended  the  fame  of  this  country  from  the 
rising  to  the  setting  Sun.  We  have  those  who,  by  various  civil 
merits  and  various  civil  talents,  have  been  exalted  to  a  situa- 
tion which  they  well  deserve,  and  in  which  tlie}^  will  justify  the 
favour  of  their  sovereign,  and  the  good  opinion  of  their  fellow- 
subjects,  and  make  them  rejoice  to  see  those  virtuous  charac- 
ters that  were  the  other  day  upon  a  level  with  them  now 
exalted  above  them  in  rank,  but  feeling  with  them  in  sympa- 
thy what  they  felt  in  common  with  them  before.  We  have 
persons  exalted  from  the  practice  of  the  law,  from  the  place  in 
which  they  administered  high  though  subordinate  justice,  to  a 
seat  here,  to  enlighten  with  their  knowledge,  and  to  strengthen 
with  their  votes  those  principles  which  have  distinguished  the 
courts  in  which  they  have  jDresided. 

"  My  Lords,  you  have  here,  also,  the  lights  of  our  religion, — 
you  have  the  Bishops  of  England.  M}^  Lords,  you  have  that 
true  image  of  the  primitive  Church,  in  its  ancient  form,  in  its 


PERSUASION.  233 

ancient  ordinances  jDurified  from  the  superstitions  and  the  vices 
which  a  long  succession  of  ages  will  bring  ujDon  the  best  insti- 
tutions. You  have  the  representatives  of  that  religion  which 
says  that  their  God  is  love,  that  the  very  vital  spirit  of  their 
institution  is  charity;  a  religion  which  so  much  hates  ojjpres- 
sion,  that,  when  the  God  whom  we  adore  apjDcared  in  human 
form,  He  did  not  appear  in  a  form  of  greatness  and  majesty, 
but  in  sympathy  with  the  lowest  of  the  people,  and  thereby 
made  it  a  firm  and  ruling  principle  that  their  welfare  was  the 
object  of  all  government,  since  the  Person  who  was  the  Master 
of  IN'ature  chose  to  appear  Himself  in  a  subordinate  situation. 
These  are  the  considerations  which  influence  them,  which 
animate  them,  and  will  animate  them,  against  all  oppression; 
knowing  that  He  who  is  called  first  among  them,  and  first 
among  us  all,  both  of  the  flock  that  is  fed  and  of  those  who 
feed  it,  made  Himself  '  the  servant  of  all.' 

"  My  Lords,  these  are  the  securities  which  we  have  in  all 
the  constituent  j^arts  of  the  body  of  this  House.  We  know 
them,  we  reckon,  we  rest  upon  them,  and  commit  safel}^  the 
interests  of  India  and  of  humanity  into  your  hands.  There- 
fore it  is  with  confidence,  that,  ordered  by  the  Commons, 

"I  impeach  Warren  Hastings,  Esquire,  of  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors. 

"  I  im23eacli  him  in  the  name  of  the  Commons  of  Great 
Britain  in  Parliament  assembled,  whose  parliamentar}'  trust  he 
has  betrayed. 

"  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  all  the  Commons  of  Great 
Britain,  whose  national  character  he  has  dishonored. 

"  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  India,  whose 
laws,  rights  and  liberties  he  has  subverted,  whose  jDroperties 
he  has  destroyed,  whose  country  he  has  laid  waste  and  deso- 
late. 

"  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  and  ])y  virtue  of  those  eternal 
laws  of  justice  which  he  has  violated. 

"  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  human  nature  itself,  which 
he  has  cruelly  outraged,  injured  and  oppressed,  in  both  sexes, 
in  every  age,  rank,  situation,  and  condition  of  life."  * 
1  Select  Works,  x.  142. 


234  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   AEGUMENTATION. 

If  persuasion  is  separated  from  argument,  its  usual 
and  natural  place  is  after  the  presentation  of  facts.  In- 
tellectual action  precedes  emotional  activity.  Men  must 
Variety  of  be  first  instructed,  then  they  may  be  convinced. 
Methods  for  ^^^^  ^^i^^^  properly  roused  to  action.  But 
Minds.  knowmg  whe7i  men  may  be  persuaded,  is  not 

knowing  how  to  persuade  them.  The  methods  must  be 
almost  infinite  to  meet  all  possible  cases.  The  action 
aimed  at  may  vary  from  a  smgle  instance  of  self-re- 
stramt,  to  a  course  of  conduct  involving  labor,  self-sac- 
rifice, and  even  life  itself.  Action  may  be  desu^ed  of 
a  single  person,  or  of  all  whose  conduct  affects  the  des- 
tmies  of  a  great  nation.  Motives  differ.  An  appeal 
that  would  excite  one  class  to  fury,  might  leave  another 
class  mdifferent.  The  intelligence,  occupations,  mter- 
ests,  beliefs,  connections,  environments,  and  moral  char- 
acter of  those  addi^essed,  all  have  a  determming  effect 
on  persuasive  method.  Written  discourse  requires  a 
modification  of  the  method  of  spoken  discourse.  "To 
be  persuasive  ...  it  is  necessary  to  have  vividly  pres- 
ent to  the  view  all  the  leaduig  impulses  and  convictions 
of  the  persons  addressed,  and  to  be  ready  to  catch  at 
every  point  of  identity  between  these  and  the  proposi- 
tions or  projects  presented  for  their  adoption.  The 
first-named  qualification  grows  out  of  experience  and 
the  study  of  character ;  the  other  is  the  natural  force  of 
similarity,  which  has  often  been  exemplified  in  its  high- 
est range  in  oratorical  minds."  ^ 

The  most  common  means  of  persuasion  consists  in 
placing  before  an  audience  some  motive  for  action,  that 
is,  "  something  that  will  occasion  or  mduce  free  action 

1  Baiu,  The  Senses  and  the  Intellect,  543. 


PERSUASION.  235 

ill  man."'  At  the  White  murder  trial  Webster  urged 
upon  the  jury  the  protection  of  innocent  people  and 
the  satisfaction  gamed  from  duty  well  done.  In  the 
Speech  071  Conciliation  Burke  tried  to  make 
parliament  see  that  concession  would,  ui  JJc^J^^**^ 
the  end,  secui-e  a  better  revenue  from  the 
Colonies  than  msistmg  upon  the  right  of  taxation. 
Huxley  offers  as  an  mducement  to  follow  his  reasoning, 
the  satisfaction  of  "possessing  a  true  solution  of  the 
great  problems  of  nature."  In  his  speech  at  Liverpool 
Beecher  showed  the  English  that  their  attitude  towards 
this  country  would  mjure  the  market  for  their  own 
goods.  In  his  speeches  on  the  Constitution  Webster 
offered  as  incentives,  liberty,  equality,  and  prosperity, 
under  a  free  government.  In  his  campaign  speeches  Mr. 
Bryan  attempted  to  show  how  "  free  silver  "  would  enable 
the  oppressed  classes  to  "  get  even  "  with  money  owners 
and  money  changers,  give  the  debtor  the  option  in  the 
payment  of  debts,  and  relieve  all  the  distresses  of  hard 
times.  In  all  these  cases  it  is  shown  to  be  a  duty,  or  to 
be  in  some  way  to  the  interest  of  those  addressed,  to  do 
a  certain  tlmig, —  convict  a  criminal,  vote  for  a  measure, 
change  a  national  attitude,  preserve  the  union,  work  for 
"  free  silver." 

In  every  case  the  speaker  must  know  to  what  emotion 
he  may  successfully  appeal,  or  what  motive  he  iliay  pre- 
sent.    These  motives  are  so  numerous  and  diverse  that 
to  understand  them  is  no  easy  matter.     At- 
tempts have  been  made  to  classify  them ;  as,  ^lll\^^ 
those  connected  with  personal  interest, —  self- 
preservation,  culture,  enjoyment,  ambition ;   those  con- 
nected with  social  duty,  —  benevolence,  philanthropy, 


236  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

heroism,  patriotism ;  those  connected  with  moral  or  reli- 
gious duty, —  toleration,  kindness,  service,  submission, 
love,  reverence,  praise,  worship.  But  tliis  does  not  ex- 
haust the  list  of  even  worthy  motives,  and  omits  such 
baser  motives  as  selfishness,  hate,  anger,  revenge,  sensual 
desires,  vanity,  and  greed.  To  know  whether  to  pre- 
sent considerations  of  happiness,  or  duty,  or  generosity ; 
whether  to  arouse  emotion,  then  guide  it  to  action ; 
whether  to  complete  the  work  of  persuasion  at  once  or 
return  to  it  later;  to  know  how  successfully  to  present 
any  considerations,  —  implies  a  careful  study  of  human 
nature  under  the  most  varied  circumstances.  It  implies 
such  a  thorough  knowledge  of  men  and  of  expedients 
as  is  obtamed  only  by  long  experience  in  dealmg  witli 
practical  affairs.  To  prescribe  specific  rules  for  per- 
suasion, therefore,  is  impossible ;  the  most  that  can  be 
done  is  to  suggest  a  few  general  principles  which  good 
sense,  insight,  sympathy,  and  a  grasp  of  the  situation, 
will  apply  to  any  case. 

Other  things  being  equal,  it  is  best  to  offer  the  high- 
est motive  which  will  be  effective.  Men  are  induced 
to  contribute  to  a  charity  by  various  appeals,  —  to  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  to  sympathy  for  those 
Highest  benefited,  to  a  hope  of  reward,  to  mere  van- 
ity —  a  desire  of  being  paraded  in  j)ublic  as 
a  benefactor.  If  motives  of  different  rank  are  put  for- 
ward the  higher  should  come  after  the  lower,  unless 
the  speaker,  relying  upon  the  higher,  sees  that  to  have 
failed.  Webster  first  shows  at  the  White  murder  trial 
that  the  conviction  of  the  criminal  will  secure  safety  to 
innocent  people,  the  jury  included.  His  closing  appeal 
is  of  a  higher  mood,  —  fidelity  to  a  trust,  duty  to  man 


PEBSUASION.  237 

aiid  to  God.  Burke  appeals  iii  the  Speech  on  Concili- 
ation^ to  British  cupidity,  to  admiration  for  colonial 
enterprise,  to  fear  of  losing  the  Colonies,  to  a  sense 
of  justice,  and  last  to  national  interest,  combined 
with  national  duty  toward  a  great  part  of  tlie  colonial 
population. 

There  is  no  surer  mark  of  distuiction  between  the 
statesman  and  the  demagogue  than  the  motives  offered 

in  public  addresses.     Hardly  a  greater  con- 

^  .  .  -'         to  statesmen 

trast  can  be  imagmed  than  that  between  the  and  Dema- 
appeals  of  Webster  on  questions  of  national  ^°^^®^* 
finance  ^  and  those  of  some  popular  political  speakers  of 
this  generation :  — 

"  We  are  the  greatest  nation  on  earth.  I  am  a  candidate  for 
the  greatest  office  on  earth.  You  are  the  people  of  the  greatest 
nation  on  earth.  Your  President  is  merely  your  hired  man. 
Your  wisdom  is  inexhaustible  and  infallible.  You  alone  are 
capable  of  deciding  all  questions,  economic,  moral,  and  other, 
in  the  best  manner.  They  say  that  you  cannot  solve  the  finan- 
cial question  without  the  aid  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  I  tell  you 
that  you  are  so  great  that  you  can  ignore  the  rest  of  the  world. 
The  issue  is  drawn.  ^Shall  we  have  an  American  financial  sys- 
tem for  the  American  people,  or  an  English  financial  system  for 
the  English  aristocracy  and  American  goldbugs  ?  "  '^ 

An  appeal  to  motives  so  low  or  selfish  as  to  seem  un- 
worthy, usually  thwarts  itself.  "  Virtue  assigns  the  law 
of  successful  persuasion.  The  orator  who  avails  himself 
of  the  ignorance  and  passions  of  men  mcurs 
the  risk,  that,  hi  wiser  and  calmer  moments,  °^  ^^^ 
the  fact  may  be  discerned,  and  prove  henceforth  the  oc- 
casion of  distrust  and  separation.  The  grounds  of  uiflu- 
ence  are  confidence  and  sympathy.     Without  these,  the 

1  Page  104,  216.  -^  The  Nation. 


238  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

mind  holds  itself  aloof,  and  the  emotions  sought  for  are 
not  aroused.  Nothing  more  excites  men  of  ordmary  m- 
telligence  to  resistance,  to  close  all  the  avenues  of  the 
heart,  than  the  discovery  that  they  have  been  deceived 
and  designedly  misled."  ^ 

A  motive  is  more  likely  to  be  effective  if  it  is  m  ac- 
cord with  the  habitual  state  of  mmd  of  the  audience.  It 
is  of  little  use  to  appeal  to  a  spendthrift's  love  of  money, 
Motive  or  a  scoff'er's  reverence.      A  prohibition  agi- 

Those^^^""  tator  would  find  difficulties  m  Germany.  An 
Addressed,  appeal  to  patriotism  will  reach  many  m  any 
country  and  under  any  form  of  government;  but  an 
appeal  to  a  sacred  reverence  for  the  authority  of  mon- 
archs  would  be  more  successful  elsewhere  than  in 
America. 

The  use  of  a  single  motive  to  stir  a  mixed  audience  or 
even  to  move  an  individual,  is  rarely  successful.  Men 
Use  of  More  have  different  interests.  They  look  i^pon  en- 
g?^j*  terprises  from  a  different  pomt  of  view.    They 

Motive.  see  different  consequences  from  the  same  act 
or  course  of  conduct.  From  their  modes  of  thought  and 
the  subjects  with  which  they  are  familiar,  they  must  be 
approached  m  a  different  way. 

"  Persuasion  imjDlies  that  some  course  of  conduct  shall  be  so 
described,  or  expressed,  as  to  coincide,  or  be  identified,  with  the 
active  impulses  of  the  individuals  addressed,  and  thereby  com- 
mand their  adoption  of  it  by  the  force  of  their  own  natural  dis- 
positions. A  leader  of  banditti  has  to  deal  with  a  class  of  per- 
sons whose  ruling  impulse  is  plunder  ;  and  it  becomes  his 
business  to  show  that  any  scheme  of  his  proposing  will  lead 
to  this  end.  A  people  with  an  intense,  overpowering  patriot- 
ism, as  the  old  Romans,  can  be  acted  on  by  jjroving  that  the 

1  Bascom,  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  57. 


PERSUASION  239 

interests  of  country  are  at  stake.  The  fertile  oratorical  miud 
is  one  that  can  identify  a  case  in  hand  with  a  great  number  of 
the  strongest  beHefs  of  an  audience  ;  and  more  especially  with 
those  that  seem,  at  first  sight,  to  have  no  connection  with  the 
point  to  be  carried.  The  discovery  of  identity  in  diversity  is 
never  more  called  for,  than  in  the  attempts  to  move  men  to 
adopt  some  unwonted  course  of  proceeding."  ' 

The  appeal  through  the  presentation  of  motive  is  more 
or  less  direct.  The  feelings  may,  however,  be  reached 
in  another  way,  and  then  made  an  impellmg  force  m  the 
desii'ed  direction.  When  Antony  addressed 
Aroused  the  mob,  he  did  not  even  suggest  that  it  would 
^'  be  to  then-  mterest  to  "  Revenge,  —  about,  — 
seek,  —  burn,  —  kill,  — >  slay,  —  let  not  a  traitor  live  !  " 
He  inflamed  tlieu-  passions,  which  must  find  vent  in 
some  way ;  and  his  knowledge  of  human  nature  was  such 
that  he  foresaw  theh  action.  Napoleon's,  "  Forty  cen- 
turies look  dov^ai  upon  you  from  these  pjrramids,"  with 
the  few  stirring  words  that  followed,  was  more  effective 
than  a  long  array  of  motives  for  domg  a  soldier's  duty. 
Tlie  preacher  by  various  devices  —  picturmg  death-bed 
scenes,  the  torments  of  the  danmed,  the  joys  of  the  re- 
deemed,—  arouses  the  emotions  of  his  congregation, 
workuig  upon  his  hearers  so  strongly  that  they  must 
find  relief  m  action ;  then  he  places  the  desired  course 
of  action  vividly  before  them,  and  they  find  relief  m  its 
adoption.  The  lawyer  works  m  the  same  way  upon  the 
jury.  He  pictures  the  horrors  of  the  crime,  the  suffer- 
ing it  mflicts,  the  outrage  upon  humanity.  He  shows 
how  the  crime  touches  the  jury  as  citizens,  as  protectors 
of  their  wives  and  little  ones ;  and  then  as  Webster  so 
often  does,  he  leaves  them  to  "  do  their  duty."     Some- 

1  Bain,  The  Senses  and  the  Intellect,  452. 


240  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

times  lie  urges  tliem  to  do  their  duty  and  punish  the 
murderer  as  in  the  folio wmg  speech  of  General  Breckui- 
ridge  m  the  Buford  case  :  — 

"  O  gentlemen,  give  us  one  more  crowning  proof  that  the 
trial  by  jury  is  not  a  farce  and  show,  but  that  justice  can  be  en- 
forced by  a  Kentucky  juiy  according  to  the  law  and  evidence, 
and  with  a  full  sense  of  the  solemn  value  of  that  duty  to  be 
performed. 

"  This  is  not  my  voice,  but  that  of  my  brother,  who  pleads 
with  you  by  the  side  of  this  dead  judge  and  this  living  prisoner. 
I  have  no  right  to  do  more  than  pray  that  God  will  give  you 
strength  to  do  your  duty,  your  whole  duty,  so  that  in  His  sight 
you  can  stand  upright.  And  if  the  verdict  which  your  con- 
sciences require,  deprives  him  of  his  life,  he  will  owe  to  you 
what  he  refused  before  his  blameless  visitation,  to  make  peace 
with  that  God  who  will  judge  each  of  us  for  the  just  verdict  in 
this  trial."  ' 

The  indirect  method  is  often  preferable  to  this  more 
direct.  Men  are  suspicious  of  direct  appeals,  and  often 
arm  themselves  against  them.  To  arouse  and  influence 
feelmg  with  no  seemmg  intent  to  do  so,  avoids 
Method  that  prejudice.     No  man  can  feel  joy  or  grief, 

love  or  hate,  merely  by  bemg  told  to  do  so  or 
by  wishmg  to  do  so.  Even  the  actor  must  work  upon 
himself,  take  himself  to  the  source  of  feelmg,  and  arouse 
feelmg  m  himself,  before  he  is  able  successfully  to  repre- 
sent it  to  his  audience.  The  speaker  havmg  always 
present  the  cause  of  feeling,  may  exhibit  its  effect  upon 
himself,  that  is,  he  may  exhibit  his  own  feelings  to  the 
audience ;  or  he  may  present  to  them  in  detail  what 
arouses  the  feeling  in  himself. 

To  excite  feeling  by  the  exhibition  of  feeling,  the  ora- 

1  Modern  Jury  Trials,  683. 


PERSUASION.  241 

tor  must  have  the  confidence  of  the  audience ;  and  this  de- 
pends on  what  he  is.    In  matters  mvolving  serious  action, 
earnest  men  and  thoughtful  audiences  will  tolerate  no  act- 
ing.     Nothing  but  the  sterlmg  qualities  of 
manhood  will  give  a  speaker  success  m  mov-  character, 
mg  his  audience  through  his  own  personality. 
Fervor  must  be  smcere,  sentiment  genume,  eloquence 
spontaneous.    "Virtue  ought  to  accumulate  strength,  vice 
to  lose  it.  Benevolence  ought  to  win  favor  and  selfisluiess 
to  forfeit  it;  mtegrity  ought  to  secure  confidence,  and 
trickery,  to  destroy  it.    The  momentum  and  power  of  per- 
sonal character  are  a  most  wholesome  law  in  the  world."  ^ 
Alliance  with  those  addressed  is  absolutely  necessary, 
so  to  move  them  as  to  stir  their  activities.    A  thmking  au- 
dience rejects  alliance  with  a  hypocrite.    Artifice,  tricks 
of  argument,  flattery,  attempts  to  entrap  either 
judgment  or  will,  are   a  sure  bar   to    those  witii  Those 

J.  .       n  T    ,.  .  .  Addressed. 

friendly  relations  so  necessary  to  persuasion. 
The  audience  want  a  man^  not  a  rhetorical  or  emotional 
gynmast.  Between  them  and  the  speaker  there  must  be 
mutual  respect  and  trust.  "He  must  lead  them  to  the  sum- 
mit of  truth  and  duty.  He  must  unite  himself  entirely 
with  them,  make  their  thought  his  thought,  their  impulses 
his  impulses,  even  their  prejudices  his  prejudices,  that  he 
may  graft  his  thought  on  theirs,  mould  their  impulses  into 
his,  and  efface  their  prejudices  with  his  truth."  ^  If  his  char- 
acter is  such  as  to  gam  full  confidence,  he  may  do  this  ;  if 
not,  he  may  histruct  or  convmce,  but  never  persuade. 

Beecher  judged  his  audience  by  their  appearance,  and 
they  judged  him  in  the  same  way.  So  any  public  speaker 
is  likely  to  be  judged.     His  demeanor  before  his  audience 

1  Bascom,  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  97.      -  Robiusou,  Forensic  Oratory,  27. 


242  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

should  command  respect.  "  In  all  kinds  of  public  speak- 
ing, but  especially  in  popular  assemblies,  it  is  a  capital 
rule  to  attend  to  all  the  decorum  of  time,  place,  and 

character.  No  warmth  of  eloquence  can  atone 
the^speTker    ^^^'  ^^^^  neglect  of  this.    That  vehemence  which 

is  becoming  m  a  person  of  character  and  au- 
thority, may  be  unsuitable  to  the  modesty  expected  from 
a  young  speaker.  That  sportive  and  witty  manner  which 
may  suit  one  assembly,  is  altogether  out  of  place  in  a 
grave  cause  and  solenni  meeting.  No  one  should  ever 
rise  to  speak  in  public  without  formmg  to  himself  a 
just  and  strict  idea  of  what  suits  his  own  age  and  char- 
acter ;  what  suits  the  subject,  the  hearers,  the  place,  the 
occasion ;  and  adjustmg  the  whole  train  and  manner  of 
his  speaking  to  this  idea."  ^ 

To  have  mfluence,  the  speaker  must  be  known  as  a 
man  of  ability.  An  audience  soon  learns  whether  a 
man  is  master  of  his  subject  or  is  only  feeling  his  way ; 

and  knows,  too,  when  the  blind  lead  the  blmd, 
Repuution.    "^^^^^'^  both  are  liable  to  fall.     He  must  be 

known  as  a  man  of  industry  as  well  as  of 
sound  judgment.  A  lazy  man  does  not  seek  after  truth ; 
a  man  of  little  judgment  does  not  know  when  he  has 
fomid  it.  The  speaker  must  be  known  as  honest,  smcere, 
fair  and  frank ;  for  if  he  is  not  lie  may  be  thought  to 
withhold  the  truth  or  pervert  it,  to  "make  the  worse 
appear  the  better  reason."  Evident  common  sense  and 
a  modest  friendly  manner  in  a  speaker  will  do  much 
toward  making  an  audience  trust  his  revelation  of 
himself  or  the  management  of  his  material. 

If  a  speaker  "  expresses  his  own  feeling  and  trusts  to 

1  Quiutiliau,  I/tsiitutes,  Book  XII. 


PERSUASION.  243 

the  contagion  of  sympathy,"  it  must  be  done  naturally. 
Mark  Antony's  artificial  self-restramt  and  simulated  out- 
burst of  passion,  would  seem  as  melodi^amatic  ExMbition 
in  an  American  political  meetmg,  as  Burke's  ^ustbe^^ 
dagger-scene  did  m  the  House  of  Commons,  Genuine, 
with  Sheridan  to  supplement  it.  The  performance  of 
an  actor  is  not  that  of  an  orator.  "  Violent  displays  of 
feeling  will  not  inflame  the  feelings  of  others.  We  ex- 
pect of  one  who  is  entitled  to  our  sympathy,  a  reserve 
and  self-control,  which  suggest  an  intensity  of  feeling 
greater  than  he  expresses.  Not  merely  the  strongest 
thinkers,  and  ablest  and  most  convmcing  reasoners,  but 
many  of  the  most  impressive  and  persuasive  rhetoricians 
of  modern  times,  have  been  remarkable  rather  for  mod- 
eration than  exaggeration  in  expression.  It  was  a  maxim 
of  Webster's,  that  violence  of  language  was  indicative  of 
feebleness  of  thought  and  want  of  reasonmg  power,  and 
it  was  his  practice  rather  to  understate  than  overstate 
the  strength  of  his  confidence  m  the  soundness  of  his  own 
arguments  and  the  logical  necessity  of  his  conclusions. 
He  kept  his  auditor  constantly  m  advance  of  him,  by 
suggestion  rather  than  by  strong  asseveration,  by  a  calm 
exposition  of  considerations  wliich  ought  to  excite  feel- 
ing in  the  heart  of  both  speaker  and  hearer,  not  by  an 
undignified  and  theatrical  exhibition  of  passion  in  him- 
self. And  this  is  indeed  the  sound  practical  interpreta- 
tion of  tlie  Horatian  precept :  — 

'  Wouldst  thou  unseal  the  fountain  of  my  tears 
Thyself  the  signs  of  grief  must  show.'  "  ' 

The  speaker  may  bring  before  his  hearers  the  facts, 

1  Marsh,  Lectures  on  the  English  Language,  235. 


244  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   AEGUMENTATION. 

incidents  and  scenes  which  stir  his  own  soul,  so  present- 
ing them  as  to  produce  upon  others  the   same    effect 

which  they  have  had  upon  himself.  "  Deduc- 
S^DetaU^**^  tions  have  no  power  of  persuasion.     The  heart 

is  commonly  reached,  not  through  the  reason, 
but  through  the  imagination,  by  means  of  direct  impres- 
sion, by  the  testimony  of  facts  and  events,  by  history, 
by  description.  Persons  influence  us,  voices  melt  us, 
looks  subdue  us,  deeds  inflame  us."  ^  The  feelings  are 
not  the  product  of ''  special  creation  "  but  of  "  evolution." 
Time  is,  therefore,  required  for  their  development.  De- 
tails must  be  given  in  such  number  as  will  afford  time 
to  produce  their  effect.  Macaulay  describmg  the  effects 
of  the  French  Revolution  says  :  "  Down  went  the  old 
church  of  France  with  all  its  pom^)  and  wealth."  Then 
by  addmg  details  he  gives  the  imagination  time  to  realize 
the  main  truth  that  the  church  was  destroyed :  "  The 
churches  were  closed ;  the  bells  vv^ere  silent ;  the  shrines 
were  plundered ;  the  silver  crucifixes  were  melted  down  ; 
buffoons  dressed  in  surplices  came  dancing  down  the 
campagnole,  even  to  the  bar  of  the  Convention."  Burke, 
m  describing  the  cruelties  of  Debi  Smg,  has  shown  to 
what  extent  feelings  may  be  stirred  by  a  vivid  recital  of 
details  :  — 

"  But,  to  pursue  this  melancholy  but  necessary  detail.  I  am 
next  to  open  to  your  Lordships,  that  the  most  substantial  and 
leading  yeomen,  the  responsible  farmers,  the  parochial  magis- 
trates and  chiefs  of  villages,  were  tied  two  and  two  by  the 
legs  together  ;  and  their  tormentors,  throwing  them  with  their 
heads  downwards,  over  a  bar,  beat  them  on  the  soles  of  the  feet 
with  rattans,  until  the  nails  fell  from  the  toes  ;  and  then  attack- 
ing them  at  their  heads,  as  they  hung  downward,  as  before  at 

1  J.  H.  Newman,  Discussions  and  Arguments,  293. 


PERSTTASION.  24,5 

their  feel,  they  beat  them  with  sticks  and  other  iustruineiits  of 
blind  fury,  until  the  blood  gushed  out  at  their  eyes,  mouths, 
and  noses.  I^ot  thinking  that  the  ordinary  whips  and  cudgels, 
even  so  administered,  were  sufficient,  to  others  (and  often  also 
to  the  same  who  had  suffered  as  I  have  stated)  they  apj^lied,  in- 
stead of  rattan  and  bamboo,  whips  made  of  the  branches  of 
the  bale-tree,  —  a  tree  full  of  sharp  and  strong  thorns,  which 
tear  the  skin  and  lacerate  the  flesh  far  worse  than  ordinary 
scourges.  For  others,  exploring  with  a  searching  and  inquisi- 
tive malice,  stimulated  by  an  insatiate  rapacity,  all  the  devious 
paths  of  Xature  for  whatever  is  most  unfriendly  to  man,  they 
made  rods  of  a  plant  highly  caustic  and  poisonous,  called 
Bechettea,  every  wound  of  which  festers  and  gangrenes,  adds 
double  and  treble  to  the  present  torture,  leaves  a  crust  of  lep- 
rous sores  upon  the  body  and  often  ends  in  the  destruction  of 
life  itself.  At  night,  these  poor  innocent  sufferers,  these  mar- 
tyrs of  avarice  and  extortion,  were  brought  into  dungeons  ;  and, 
in  the  season  when  nature  takes  refuge  in  insensibility  from 
all  the  miseries  and  cares  which  wait  on  life,  they  were  three 
times  scourged,  and  made  to  reckon  the  watches  of  the  night  by 
periods  and  intervals  of  torment.  They  were  then  led  out,  in 
the  severe  depth  of  winter,  which  there  at  certain  seasons 
would  be  severe  to  any,  to  the  Indians  is  most  severe  and  al- 
most intolerable,  —  they  were  led  out  before  break  of  day,  and, 
stiff  and  sore  as  they  were  with  the  bruises  and  wounds  of  the 
night,  were  plunged  into  water  ;  and,  whilst  their  jaws  clung 
together  with  the  cold,  and  their  bodies  were  rendered  infi- 
nitely more  sensible,  the  blows  and  stripes  were  renewed  upon 
their  backs  ;  and  then,  delivering  them  over  to  soldiers,  they 
were  sent  into  their  farms  and  villages  to  discover  where  the 
few  handfuls  of  grain  might  be  found  concealed,  or  to  extract 
some  loan  from  the  remnants  of  compassion  and  courage  not 
subdued  in  those  who  had  reason  to  fear  that  their  own  turn  of 
torment  would  be  next,  and  that  their  very  humanity,  being 
taken  as  a  proof  of  their  wealth,  would  subject  them  (as  it  did 
in  many  cases  subject  them)  to  the  same  inhuman  tortures. 
^Vfter  this  circuit  of  the  day  through  their  plundered  and  ru- 
ined villages,  they  were  remanded  at  night  to  the  same  prison, 


246  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

whipped,  as  before,  at  their  return  to  the  dungeon,  and  at  morn- 
ing whipjjed  at  their  leaving  it,  and  then  sent,  as  before,  to  pur- 
chase, by  begging  in  the  day,  the  reiteration  of  the  torture  in 
the  night.  Days  of  menace,  insult,  and  extortion,  nights  of 
bolts,  fetters,  and  flagellation,  succeeded  to  each  other  in  the 
same  round,  and  for  a  long  time  made  up  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
life  to  those  miserable  people."  ^ 

Bui'ke's  occasion  was  one  in  centuries.  There  is 
danger,  on  ordinary  occasions,  of  too  prolonged  detail. 
Enough  to  set  the  imagination  vividl}^  at  work  is  all 

that  is  needed.  Webster's  narrative  at  the 
Det^s^"^       beginning  of  his  speech  at  the  White  murder 

trial  is  a  model.  ^  Only  the  most  sugges- 
tive details  are  given.  The  speaker  loiew  his  jurors 
would  complete  the  picture.  Burke  knew  how  to  sup- 
press or  suggest  as  well  as  use  detailed  description  and 
narration.  The  horror  of  the  war  in  the  Carnatic  country 
might  have  been  expressed  by  a  mere  statement  of  fact 
'•  It  was  a  war  of  extermination ;  "  or  by  a  statement  of 
fact  accompanied  by  some  expression  of  the  speaker's 
feeling,  "  The  war  was  murderous,  inhuman,  devilish  I  " 
Or  a  detail  of  its  horrors  might  have  been  given  through- 
out, like  that  of  the  cruelty  of  Debi  Smg.  But  in  a 
manner  more  effective  than  any  of  tliese,  he  suppresses 
his  indignation,  says  nothing  of  the  character  of  the 
war,  gives  the  effects,  and  lets  them  speak  for  them- 
selves :  — 

"  For  eighteen  months,  without  intermission,  this  destruction 
raged  from  the  gates  of  Madras  to  the  gates  of  Tanjore  ;  and 
so  completely  did  these  masters  in  their  art,  Hyder  Ali  and  his 
more  ferocious  son,  absolve  themselves  of  their  impious  vow, 
that,  when  the  British  armies  traversed,  as  they  did,  the  Car- 

Trial  of  Hastings,  Third  Datj.  2  Page  283. 


PERSUASION.  247 

natic  for  liimdreds  of  miles  in  all  directions,  through  the  whole 
line  of  their  march  they  did  not  see  one  man,  not  one  woman, 
not  one  child,  not  one  four-footed  beast  of  any  description 
whatever.     One  dead,  uniform  silence  reigned  over  the  whole 


The  value  of  the  concrete  and  the  specific,  is  no- 
where else  so  pronounced  as  m  persuasive  addi'ess.  A 
few  individual  instances  appeal  to  the  sympathies  more 

than  hours  of  p-eneralization.     General  Arm-  „  , 

^    ^  Value  of 

strong,  seekuig  contributions  for  the  sup-  concrete  and 
port  of  the  Hampton  Normal  and  Industrial  ^^^ 
School,  did  wisely  to  take  with  him  on  his  tours,  a  few 
of  the  colored  boys  and  young  Indians,  educated  there, 
and  let  them  show  ui  their  own  way  what  the  school 
had  done  for  them,  — -  what  they  were  when  they  en- 
tered the  school,  and  what  they^  are  now.  He  seldom 
had  to  ask  for  contributions.  Such  interest,  sympathy, 
and  confidence  were  created  by  the  boys'  appearance 
that  someone  m  the  audience  would  propose  "a  col- 
lection. "  This  gave  opportunity  for  a  brief  explanation 
of  the  specific  needs  of  the  school,  and  of  the  good 
which  ever}^  contributed  dollar  might  do.  No  amount 
of  talk  about  the  worthiness  of  the  enterprise  would 
have  effected  so  much. 

The  preacher  who  denounces  "  sin  "  in  general,  makes 
little  headway  agamst  an}'  particular  kind  of  wrong- 
dohig.  He  might  score  liars,  thieves  and  swmdlers ; 
but  this  would  be  less  effective  than  to  show  the  effect 
upon  themselves  and  upon  their  families,  of  Jones's  lymg, 
Brown's  stealing  and  Smith's  gambling.  At  the  trial 
of  Surratt  for  complicity  m  the  assassmation  of  Lmcoln, 

1  Burke's  Works,  III.  159. 


248  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

the  prosecutor  spread  out  before  tlie  jury,  maps  showing 
the  prisoner's  line  of  travel,  the  guns  hidden  at  Loyd's 
tavern,  the  diary  of  Booth,  his  eyeglasses,  and  the  regis- 
ters of  hotels  where  Surratt  had  lodged.  Although  testi- 
mony could  prove  all  these  as  facts  m  the  case,  it  could 
not  make  them  so  vivid  and  so  impressive  as  the  sight  of 
the  things  on  the  table  could  do.  "  Emotion  links  it- 
self with  particulars,  and  only  in  a  famt  and  secondary 
manner  with  abstractions.  An  orator  may  discourse  very 
eloquently  on  injustice  in  general,  and  leave  his  audience 
cold ;  but  let  him  state  a  special  case  of  oppression,  and 
every  heart  will  throb.  The  most  untheoretic  persons 
are  aw^are  of  this  relation  between  true  emotion  and  par- 
ticular facts,  as  opposed  to  general  terms,  and  implicitly 
recognize  it  m  the  repulsion  they  feel  towards  any  one 
who  professes  strong  feeling  about  abstractions,  —  in  the 
interjectional  '  humbug !  '  which  immediately  rises  to 
their  lips. "  ^ 

Iteration  of  a  smgle  strikmg  fact  may  mtensify  feel- 
ing. Dickens  uses  this  method  effectively  after  de- 
scribmg  the  death  of  little  Joe.  Burke  is  a  master  of 
iteration  for  the  sake  of  mtensifying  j)ersua- 
sion  as  well  as  of  enforcing  argument.  But 
repetition  easily  degenerates  mto  bare  tautology,  and 
wordiness  is  a  capital  fault :  it  allows  feeling  to  cool. 
The  reserve  force  back  of  Yirgmius's  "  I'll  be  j)atient, " 
has  a  much  more  powerful  effect  than  all  Lear's  mad 
ranting. 

Variety  both  in  what  is  presented,  and  in  the  manner 
of  presentation,  is  desirable,  whether  the  speaker  is  aim- 

1  For  a  good  example  of  arousing  feeling  by  individual  instance,  see 
Great  Speeches,  348. 


PERSUASION.  249 

ing  at  different  classes  in  his  audience,  or  at  a  single 

class   or   an    individual.      Monotony  wearies    attention 

and  deadens  sensibility.     Much  of  Gough's  power  over 

audiences  lay  in  his  wealth  of  resource  and 

his  manner  of  di^awmg  upon  it.     Every  sen-  ^^^^qI^"^ 

timent  was  appealed  to ;  almost  every  possible 

method  of  appeal  was  used.     Description  and  narrative, 

exposition  and  argument,  brief,  bright,  rapid,  each  helping 

the  rest,  and  all  in  quick  succession,  were  made  to  direct 

thought  and  feeling  to  the  one  main  object  and  do  the 

work  of  persuasion.     All  was  used  with  a  singleness  of 

purpose.     Some  things  said  struck  one  class  of  listeners, 

and  some  things  struck  all.     Behind  every  utterance  was 

the  strong  personality  of  the  speaker,  fired  with  a  smgle 

idea  which  gave  relevancy,  coherence  and  unity. 

Matter,  method,  and  manner,  must  be  adapted  to  those 

addressed.    Audiences  differ  m  quickness  of  perception, 

m  sensibility  and  m  power  to  estimate  motives.     What 

would  deeply  touch  a  Chatauqua  Assembly 

Adaptation, 
might  have  little  effect  on  the  Concord  School 

of  Philosophy,  and  vice  versa.  The  ignorant  are  easily 
stirred ;  the  educated  less  easily.  Professor  Drummond 
tells,^  '  that  on  one  occasion  in  Africa  four  of  his  carriers 
ran  away.  There  were  tliree  of  the  same  tribe  in  the 
company,  and  though  he  knew  nothing  of  their  dialect, 
he  determmed,  bemg  in  danger  of  losing  his  life,  to  teach 
them  a  lesson.  Beginnmg  with  a  few  general  remarks  on 
the  heathen,  he  briefly  sketched  the  geology  of  Africa 
and  then  broke  into  an  impassioned  defense  of  the  Brit- 
ish constitution.  The  three  tribesmen  trembled  like 
aspen  leaves.     He  concluded  his  reprimand  by  solenmly 

1  Tropical  Africa, 


250  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUIVIENTATION. 

enunciating  the  forty-seventh  proposition  of  Euclid,  and 
the  result  of  the  awful  admonition  was  that  the  men  be- 
came the  most  faithful  that  he  ever  had.' 

After  the  defeat  of  the  Union  army  at  Bull  Run, 
General  Garfield  quieted  the  terror-stricken  mob  in  New 
York  by  his  oracular,  ^'  God  reigns  and  the  government 
at  Washington  still  lives."  Governor  Rusk  dispersed  a 
different  kmd  of  a  mob  in  Milwaukee  in  a  different  way : 
"  If  these  streets  are  not  cleared  in  two  minutes,  I'll  order 
the  militia  to  let  daylight  mto  every  one  of  you."  Neither 
of  these  speeches  would  have  had  much  effect  on  the 
Paris  mobs.  It  is  easier  to  awaken  the  sympathy  of  a 
petit  jury  than  of  a  bench  of  judges.  It  requires  less  to 
move  a  popular  assembly  than  would  move  a  bod}^  of 
senators.  As  intellectual  power  increases,  the  emo- 
tional nature,  as  a  rule,  recedes,  so  that  the  preacher 
argues  more  to  a  cultured  congregation,  but  uses  per- 
suasive methods  more  Avith  the  uncultured.  If  he  at- 
tempts to  persuade  the  intellectual  he  must  use  all  his 
subtlety,  watchmg  their  moods  and  carefully  adaptmg 
himself  to  changes.  The  speaker  has  this  advantage 
over  the  writer,  that  he  addresses  a  definite  audience. 
It  is  possible,  therefore,  for  him  to  identify  himself  in 
general  characteristics  with  his  hearers,  to  adapt  each 
part  of  his  speech  to  the  progressive  movement  of  their 
minds,  and  to  change  his  method  m  order  to  meet  their 
changing  attitude  toward  the  proposed  ends. 

Hermann  Grimm  says,  "  When  you  find  a  really  great 
man,  you  always  fuid  him  a  perfectly  simple 
S^aimer.  ^^^n."  An  intelligent  audience,  whether  con- 
sciously or  not,  applies  this  prmciple  to  one 
appealing  to  them.     Anything  like  pretense,  any  exhibi- 


PEESUASION.  251 

tion  of  egotism,  self-consciousness,  effort  to  be  eloquent,  is 
fatal  to  success  in  persuasion.  "  A  fundamental  element 
of  a  preacher's  power  is  freedom  from  self-consciousness. 
If  lie  asks  '  How  shall  I  do  this  most  creditably  to  my- 
self?' his  sermon  will  have  a  different  effect  than  if  he 
asks  '  How  may  I  do  this  most  effectively  for  others  ? ' 
There  is  wonderful  clearness  and  economy  of  force  in 
simplicity.  No  man  ever  thought  whether  he  were 
preaching  well,  without  weakening  his  sermon.  I  think 
there  are  few  higher  or  more  delightful  moments  in  a 
preacher's  life  than  those  which  come  sometimes  when, 
standing  before  a  congregation  and  haunted  by  questions 
about  the  merits  of  his  preaching,  which  he  hates  but 
cannot  drive  away,  at  last  suddenly  or  gradually  he 
finds  himself  taken  into  the  power  of  his  truth,  absorbed 
in  one  sole  desu-e  to  send  it  mto  the  men  he  is  preaching 
to ;  and  then  every  sail  is  set,  his  sermon  goes  bravely 
out  to  sea,  leaving  self  high  and  diy  upon  the  beach 
where  it  has  been  holding  his  sermon  stranded. "j^ 

In  persuasion  a  lofty  oratorical  style  is  less  effective 
than  the  simple  utterance  of  the  truth.     "  If  readers  are 
thmkmg  about  a  writer's  style,  or  hearers  about  an  ora- 
tor's eloquence,  they  are  less  likely  to  be  m- 
fluenced   by  him  than  if  they  are  so  fully  ^'JJyit*^ 
absorbed  in  what  he  is  saying  as  to  pay  no 
attention  to  the  manner  m  which  it  is  said.     If  a  writer 
or  an  orator  is  thinking  of  his  o^vn  style,  he  may  please 
his  readers  or  his  hearers  with  well-turned  periods  or 
soundmg  phrases,  but  he  will  not  move  them ;  for  he 
will  mevitably  betray  the  fact  that  manner  is  more  to 
him  than  matter.     If  his  mind  is  full  of  his  purpose,  he 

1  Phillil^s  Brooks,  Lectures  on  Preaching,  ^2. 


252  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

will  express  himself  simply.  '  I  believe  it  to  be  true,' 
says  Emerson,  '  that  when  any  orator  at  the  bar  or  in  the 
Senate  rises  in  his  thought,  he  descends  in  his  language, 
—  that  is,  when  he  rises  to  any  height  of  thought  or  of 
passion  he  comes  down  to  a  language  level  with  the  ear 
of  all  his  audience.  It  is  the  merit  of  John  Brown  and  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  —  one  at  Charlestown,  one  at  Gettys- 
burg—  m  the  two  best  specimens  of  eloquence  we  have 
had  in  this  country.'  "  ^ 

The  greatness  of  the  thought  or  the  emotion  ex- 
pressed, the  earnestness  of  the  man,  his  absorption  in 
the  theme,  and  his  evident  mterest  in  those  addressed, 

rather  than  the  pomp  of  declamation,  give  a 
Earnestness.  ,  .  t^  ,^        ^ 

speaker  persuasive  powder.  It  was  the  clear, 
earnest,  simple,  sincere  expression  of  his  profound  con- 
victions that  gave  this  power  to  Webster.  What  would 
have  been  the  result  had  he  been  thinking  of  his  own 
eloquence  when  delivering  the  peroration  of  the  Eepli/ 
to  Hayne^  or  making  his  appeal  for  Dartmouth  College  ? 
"  Demosthenes  had  a  single  object  and  a  rigid  purpose ; 
he  spoke  in  a  severe,  mtense  state  of  mmd,  meaning  to 
accomplish  somethmg  and  make  men  act.  He  aimed  to 
convmce  the  hearer  and  sweep  him  along  in  his  direc- 
tion, to  the  same  goal  for  which  he  was  making.  Cicero, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  sometimes  less  earnest,  more 
easy,  sportive,  pleasing,  charming,  winnmg  admiration. 
Consequently  he  makes  the  orator  and  his  oratory 
prominent.  He  never  forgets  the  importance  of  the 
speaker;  while  Demosthenes  so  links  himself,  identi- 
fies himself  with  the  cause  that  he  is  lost  in  it.  There- 
fore while  the  audience  and  the  reader  have  unbounded 

1  A.  S.  Hill,  Principles  of  Rhetoric,  398. 


PEKSUASION.  253 

admiration  for  the  great  Roman,  the  Greek  gets  his  own 
better  praise  when  his  auditors  at  the  end  of  one  of  his 
Phillippics  rise  up  and  cry,  '  Let  us  march  against 
Phillip ! '"  1 

The  principle  of  climax  is  quite  as  important  in  per- 
suasive, as  in  argumentative  discourse.  If  persuasion 
pervades  the  entire  speech  it  should  increase  with  the 
progress  of  the  speech.  Mark  Anton^^'s  oration 
is  an  example  ;  Burke's  speeches  on  American 
subjects  also  illustrate  the  principle ;  so  do  Webster's  Con- 
stitutional speeches.  An  appeal,  an  array  of  persuasive 
details,  an  exhibition  of  feelmg  that  would  be  appropri- 
ate and  effective  at  the  close  of  a  speech,  would  be  un- 
warranted at  the  beginnmg,  and  would  render  tame  and 
ineffective  what  Avould  follow.  A  high  pitch  sustained 
from  begmnmg  to  end,  if  that  were  possible,  would 
weary  by  its  monotony.  The  same  principle  holds  m  a 
briefer  part  of  a  discourse,  —  the  mtroduction,  any  pas- 
sage m  the  body  of  arguments,  or  the  conclusion.  The 
closing  paragraph  in  Brougham's  speech  in  defense  of 
Queen  Caroline  ^  cannot  be  excelled  as  an  arrangement 
of  this  kind :  — 

"  Such,  my  lords,  is  the  Case  now  before  j'oii  !  Such  is  the 
evidence  in  sui^port  of  this  measure  —  evidence  inadequate  to 
prove  a  debt  —  impotent  to  deprive  of  a  civil  right  —  ridiculous 
to  convict  of  the  lowest  offence  —  scandalous  if  brought  for- 
ward to  support  a  charge  of  the  highest  nature  which  the 
law  knows  —  monstrous  to  ruin  the  honour,  to  blast  the  name 
of  an  English  Queen  !  What  shall  T  say,  then,  if  this  is  the 
proof  by  which  an  act  of  judicial  legislation,  a  parliamentary 
sentence,  an  ex-^wst  facto  law,  is  sought  to  be  passed  against 
this  defenseless  woman?   My  lords,  I  pray  you  to  pause.    I  do 

1  Sears,  History  of  Oratory,  125. 

2  Speeches  on  Social  and  Political  Subjects. 


254  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

earnestly  beseech  you  to  take  heed !  You  are  standing  uj^on 
the  brink  of  a  precipice  —  then  beware  !  It  will  go  forth,  your 
judgment,  if  sentence  shall  go  againt  the  Queen.  But  it  will 
be  the  only  judgment  you  ever  pronounced,  which,  instead  of 
reaching  its  object,  will  return  and  bound  back  upon  those  who 
give  it.  Save  the  country,  my  lords,  from  the  horrors  of  this 
catastrophe  —  save  3- ourselves  from  this  i^eril  —  rescue  that 
country,  of  which  you  are  the  ornaments,  but  in  which  3'ou 
can  flourish  no  longer,  when  severed  from  the  people,  than  the 
blossom  when  cut  off  from  the  roots  and  the  stem  of  the  tree. 
Save  that  country,  that  you  may  continue  to  adorn  it  —  save 
the  Crown,  which  is  in  jeopardy  —  the  Aristocracy,  which  is 
shaken  —  save  the  Altar,  which  must  stagger  with  the  blow 
that  rends  its  kindred  Throne  !  You  have  said,  my  lords,  you 
have  willed  —  the  Church  and  the  King  have  willed  —  that  the 
Queen  shall  be  deprived  of  its  solemn  service.  She  has  instead 
of  that  solemnity,  the  heartfelt  prayers  of  the  people.  She 
wants  no  prayers  of  mine.  But  I  do  here  pour  forth  ni}'  hum- 
ble supplications  at  the  Throne  of  Mercy,  that  that  Mercy  may 
be  poured  down  upon  the  peoj^le,  in  a  larger  measure  than  the 
merits  of  their  rulers  may  deserve,  and  that  your  hearts  may 
be  turned  to  justice  !  " 


THE    CONCLUSION    OR   PEROEATION.  255 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   CONCLUSION    OR    PERORATION. 

The  third  and  last  division  of  an  argumentative  dis- 
course is  the  conclusion  or  peroration.  Whether  it  is 
an  essential  part  or  not,  whether  it  should  be  brief  or 
extended,  whether  it  should  reinforce  con- 
viction or  supplement  it  with  persuasion,  de- 
pends on  the  subject  and  the  character  of  the  previous 
discussion.  Its  purpose  is  to  secure  final  effectiveness, 
whether  by  refreshing  the  memory,  driving  home  and 
clinching  arguments,  pomting  out  clearly  their  applica- 
tion, or  stimulatmg  to  action  by  appeal  to  feelmg. 

Frequently  the  peroration  is  omitted.     If  a  speech  is 
brief,  if  every  explanation   has   been   satisfactory,  and 
every  argument  complete  and  convincing ;  if  the  plan 
has  been  clear  and  the  order  of  presentation 
so   natural  that   the  memory  readily  recalls  Maybe 
the  whole ;  if  it  is  evident  that  an  audience 
is  won  at  the  close  of  the  discussion,  —  no  peroration  is 
necessar}'.     It  would  be  likely  to  do  more  harm  than 
good.     What   had   been    convincmg   to  the  audience, 
might  now  seem  to  them  not  convincing  to  the  speaker. 
It  is  a  good  thing  to  know  when  to  stop.     In  some  of 
Burke's  long  speeches,  frequent  summaries  at  the  close 
of  definite  lines  of  reasonmg,  and  the  persuasive  charac- 
ter of  the  whole,  take  the  place  of  a  formal  peroration. 

The  work  of  the  peroration  may  be  argumentative ; 
not  that  new  arguments  are  to  be  introduced,  but  tliose 
already  presented   may  be  given   additional   force,   by 


256  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

massing,  by  new  connections,  or  a  new  order.     They 
may  gain   force  by  amplification  at  a  vital  point,  or  by 
being  put  into  sharp  contrast  with  an  opponent's  argu- 
ments.    In  Burke's  American  speeches  what 

Argtunenta-  ,       ^         ^ 

tive  Perora-  he  calls  the  conclusion  consists   (aside  from 

answers  to  objections),  of  a  continuation  of 
argument,  presented  in  a  new  way,  shown  under  a  new 
light  and  from  a  different  point  of  view,  and  with  more 
pomted  statement  of  the  different  effects  of  adopting 
one  or  another  policy.  In  sharp  antithesis  and  incisive 
statements,  he  amplifies  what  makes  for  his  proposition, 
and  dimmishes  what  makes  against  it.  In  some  of  his 
speeches,  Webster  appeals  at  the  close  to  the  judgment 
only. 

One  common  and  effective  method  of  deepening  con- 
viction by  a  peroration,  is  to  recapitulate.  This  re- 
freshes the  memory,  gives  the  bod}^  of  arguments  mo- 
mentum, and  affords  opportunity  for  more 
Recapituia-  effective  arrangement,  if  for  any  reason  this 
is  necessary.  Recapitulation  is  desirable  if 
arguments  have  been  long,  numerous  or  complex.  Web- 
ster sometimes  uses  this  method  alone,  and  sometimes 
combines  it  with  appeal.  At  the  close  of  The  Case  of 
Ogden  and  Saunden^,  he  says  :  — 

"  To  recapitulate  what  has  been  said,  we  maintain,  First, 
that  the  Constitution,  by  its  grants  to  Congress  and  its  prohibi- 
tions on  the  States,  has  sought  to  establish  one  uniform  standard 
of  value,  or  medium  of  payment.  Second,  that  by  like  means, 
it  has  endeavored  to  provide  for  one  uniform  mode  of  discharg- 
ing debts,  when  they  are  to  be  discharged  v/ithout  payment. 
Third,  that  these  objects  are  connected,  and  that  the  first  loses 
much  of  its  importance  if  the  last  also  be  not  accompHshed. 
Fourth,  that,  reading  the  grant  to  Congress  and  the  prohibition 


THE  CONCLUSION  OR  PEROKATION.      257 

Oil  the  States  together,  the  inference  is  strong  that  the  Consti- 
tution intended  to  confer  an  exclusive  power  to  pass  bankrupt 
laws  on  Congress.  Fifth,  that  the  prohibition  in  the  tenth 
section  reaches  to  all  contracts,  existing  or  future,  in  the  same 
way  that  the  other  prohibition  in  the  same  section  extends  to 
all  debts  existing  or  future.  Sixth,  that  upon  any  other  con- 
struction, one  great  political  object  of  the  Constitution  will 
fail  of  its  accomplishment."  ^ 

He  closes  the  Speech  on  the  Murder  of  Captain  Joseph 
Wliite,  with  a  summary  of  what  has  been  proved,  the 
pomts  upon  which  the  jtiry  must  be  satisfied,  and  an 
appeal  to  the  jury  to  be  faithful  to  duty.^  He  closes 
The  Presidential  Protest,  with  a  succinct  recapitulation 
of  the  points  m  his  opponent's  doctrine,  so  stated  as  to 
bear  m  themselves  evident  antagonism  to  the  spirit  of 
the  American  Constitution,  and  follows  this  with  a  brief 
statement  of  what  must  result  if  these  be  true.  Then 
he  expresses  his  confidence  that  the  people  will  approve 
the  Senate's  action  :  — 

"  The  President  is  President.  His  office  and  his  name  of 
office  are  known,  and  both  are  fixed  and  described  by  law. 
Being  commander  of  the  army  and  navy,  holding  the  power  of 
nominating  to  office  and  removing  from  office,  and  being,  by 
these  powers,  the  fountain  of  all  patronage  and  all  favour, 
what  does  he  not  become  if  he  be  allowed  to  superadd  to  all 
this  the  character  of  single  representative  of  the  American 
people  ?  Sir,  he  becomes  what  America  has  not  been  accus- 
tomed to  see,  what  this  Constitution  has  never  created,  and 
what  I  cannot  contemplate  but  with  profound  alarm.  He  who 
may  call  himself  the  single  representative  of  a  nation,  may 
speak  in  the  name  of  the  nation  ;  may  undertake  to  wield  the 
power  of  the  nation  ;  and  who  shall  gainsay  him,  in  whatsoever 
he  chooses  to  pronounce  as  the  nation's  will  ? 

"  I  will  now.  Sir,  ask  leave  to  recapitulate  the  general  doc- 

1  Great  Speeches,  188.  '-^  Page  321). 


258  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

trines  of  this  Protest,  and  to  present  them  together.  They 
are  :  — 

"  That  neither  branch  of  the  legislature  can  take  up,  or  con- 
sider, for  the  purpose  of  censure,  any  official  act  of  the  Presi- 
dent, without  some  view  to  legislation  or  impeachment  ; 

"  That  not  only  the  passage,  but  the  discussion,  of  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  Senate  of  the  28th  of  March,  was  unauthorized  by 
the  Constitution,  and  repugnant  to  its  provisions  ; 

"  That  the  custody  of  the  public  treasury  must  always  be  in- 
trusted to  the  executive  ;  that  Congress  cannot  take  it  out  of 
his  hands,  nor  place  it  anywhere  except  under  such  superintend- 
ents and  keei^ers  as  are  appointed  by  him,  responsible  to  him, 
and  removable  at  his  will  ; 

"  That  the  whole  executive  power  is  in  the  President,  and 
that  therefore  the  duty  of  defending  the  integrity  of  the  Con- 
stitution results  to  hwifrom  the  very  nature  of  his  office  ;  and 
that  the  founders  of  our  republic  have  attested  their  sense  of 
the  importance  of  this  duty,  and,  by  exjjressing  it  in  his  official 
oath,  have  given  to  it  peculiar  solemnity  and  force  ; 

"  That,  as  he  is  to  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  exe- 
cuted, he  is  thereby  made  responsible  for  the  entire  action  of 
the  executive  department,  with  power  of  appointing,  oversee- 
ing, and  controlling  those  who  execute  the  laws  ; 

"  That  the  power  of  removal  from  office,  like  that  of  appoint- 
ment, is  an  original  executive  power,  and  is  left  in  his  hands 
unchecked  by  the  Constitution,  except  in  the  case  of  judges  ; 

"  That,  being  responsible  for  the  exercise  of  the  whole  execu- 
tive powder,  he  has  a  right  to  employ  agents  of  his  own  choice 
to  assist  him  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and  to  discharge 
them  when  he  is  no  longer  willing  to  be  resjDonsible  for  their 
acts  ; 

"  That  the  Secretaries  are  his  Secretaries,  and  all  persons  ap- 
pointed to  offices  created  by  law,  except  the  judges,  his  agents, 
responsible  to  him,  and  removable  at  his  jDleasure  ; 

"  And,  finally,  that  he  is  the  direct  rexrresentative  of  the  Am- 
erican jpeople. 

"  These,  Sir,  are  some  of  the  leading  propositions  contained 
in  the  Protest  ;  and  if  they  be  true,  then  the  government  under 


THE   CONCLUSION    OR    PERORATION.  259 

which  we  Hve  is  an  elective  monarchy.  It  is  not  yet  absolute  ; 
there  are  yet  some  checks  and  limitations  in  the  Constitution 
and  laws  ;  but,  in  its  essential  and  prevailing  character,  it  is 
an  elective  monarchy. 

"  Mr.  President,  I  have  spoken  freely  of  this  Protest,  and  of 
the  doctrines  which  it  advances  ;  but  I  have  spoken  deliber- 
ately. On  these  high  questions  of  constitutional  law,  respect 
for  my  own  character,  as  well  as  a  solemn  and  profound  sense 
of  duty,  restrains  me  from  giving  utterance  to  a  single  senti- 
ment which  does  not  flow  from  entire  conviction.  I  feel  that  I 
am  not  wrong.  I  feel  that  an  inborn  and  inbred  love  of  con- 
stitutional liberty,  and  some  study  of  our  political  institutions, 
have  not  on  this  occasion  misled  me.  But  I  have  desired  to  say 
nothing  that  should  give  pain  to  the  chief  magistrate  person- 
ally. I  have  not  sought  to  fix  arrows  in  his  breast ;  but  I  be- 
lieve him  mistaken,  altogether  mistaken,  in  the  sentiments 
which  he  has  expressed  ;  and  I  must  concur  w  ith  others  in 
placing  on  the  records  of  the  Senate  my  disapprobation  of  those 
sentiments.  On  a  vote  which  is  to  remain  so  long  as  any  pro- 
ceeding of  the  Senate  shall  last,  and  on  a  question  which  can 
never  cease  to  be  important  while  the  Constitution  of  the  coun- 
try endures,  I  have  desired  to  make  public  my  reasons.  They 
will  now  be  known,  and  I  submit  them  to  the  judgment  of  the 
present  and  of  after  times.  Sir,  the  occasion  is  full  of  interest. 
It  cannot  pass  off  without  leaving  strong  impressions  on  the 
character  of  public  men.  A  collision  has  taken  place  which  I 
could  have  most  anxiously  wished  to  avoid  ;  but  it  was  not  to 
be  shunned.  We  have  not  sought  this  controversy  :  it  has  met 
us,  and  been  forced  upon  us.  In  my  judgment,  the  law  has 
been  disregarded,  and  the  Constitution  transgressed  ;  the  for- 
tress of  liberty  has  been  assaulted,  and  circumstances  have 
placed  the  Senate  in  the  breach  ;  and,  although  we  may  perish 
in  it,  I  know  we  shall  not  fly  from  it.  But  I  am  fearless  of 
consequences.  We  shall  hold  on.  Sir,  and  hold  out,  till  the 
people  themselves  come  to  its  defence.  A\^e  shall  raise  the 
alarm,  and  maintain  the  post,  till  they  whose  right  it  is  shall 
decide  whether  the  Senate  be  a  faction,  wantonly  resisting 
lawful  power,  or  whether  it  be  opposing,  with  firmness  and 


260  THE   ESSEI^TIALS    OF   AEGUMENTATION. 

patriotism,   violations  of  liberty  and  inroads  upon   the  Con- 
stitution." ' 

Aristotle  gives  four  functions  to  the  peroration,  two 
of  which  are  performed  by  persuasion:  inclinmg  the 
judges  to  favor  the  speaker  and  disfavor  his  adversary ; 

and  as  accessory  to  this,  movmg  the  judges 
in  the  Pero-    to  anger,  love,  pity  or  other  passions.     Here 

what  was  begun  m  tlie  mtroduction  may  be 
completed :  conciliation  may  be  concluded ;  false  impres- 
sions may  be  corrected ;  friendly  feeling  and  confidence 
may  be  strengthened.  Prejudices  havmg  been  removed, 
appeals  can  be  made  that  could  not  be  made  earlier. 
The  whole  body  of  argument  having  been  presented, 
there  is  a  rational  basis  for  action  ;  and  the  sjDeaker  may 
now  place  himself,  his  cause,  the  mterests  of  the  hearers 
themselves,  before  them  m  a  way  to  stir  them  to  action. 
If  conviction  falls  just  short  of  decidmg  a  matter,  if  the 
audience  or  jury  are  fully  convinced,  but  through  apathy^ 
conservativeness,  uncertainty  as  to  consequences  or 
any  other  reason,  are  loath  to  act,  a  persuasive  perora- 
tion or  an  appeal  is  likely  to  be  effective.  The  Reiyly 
to  Hayne  would  have  fallen  far  short  of  its  effect  with- 
out the  magnificent  embodiment  of  the  "  subject,  the 
man  and  the  occasion  "  at  the  close. 

The  peroration  may  take  the  form  of  direct  appeal  to 
adopt  or  to  reject  a  principle  or  course  of  action,  as  m 

Lord  Chatham's  Speech  on  American  Affairs^ 
Direct  answering  tlie  proposition  to  employ  Indians 

m  the  war ;  "  for  it  was  perfectly  justifiable 
to  use  all  the  means  that  God  and  nature  put  into  our 
hands  ":  — 

1  Great  Speeches,  392. 


THE   CONCLUSION   OR   PEEORATION.  261 

"These  abominable  princiiDles,  and  this  more  abominable 
avowal  of  them,  demand  the  most  decisive  indignation.  I 
call  upon  that  right  reverend  bench,  those  holy  ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  and  pious  pastors  of  our  Church  —  I  conjure  them 
to  join  in  the  holy  work,  and  vindicate  the  religion  of  their 
God.  I  appeal  to  the  wisdom  and  the  law  of  this  learned 
bench  to  defend  and  support  the  justice  of  their  country.  I 
call  upon  the  Bishops  to  interpose  the  unsullied  sanctity  of 
their  lawn;  upon  the  learned  Judges,  to  interi30se  the  purity 
of  their  ermine,  to  save  us  from  this  pollution.  I  call  upon 
the  honor  of  your  Lordships  to  reverence  the  dignity  of  your 
ancestors,  and  to  maintain  your  own.  I  call  upon  the  spirit  and 
humanity  of  my  country  to  vindicate  the  national  character. 
I  invoke  the  genius  of  the  Constitution.  From  the  tapestry 
that  adorns  these  walls,  the  immortal  ancestor  of  this  noble 
lord  frowns  with  indignation  at  the  disgrace  of  his  country. 
In  vain  he  led  your  victorious  fleets  against  the  boasted  Ar- 
mada of  Spain;  in  vain  he  defended  and  established  the  honor, 
the  liberties,  the  religion  —  the  Protestant  religion  —  of  this 
country,  against  the  arbitrary  cruelties  of  Popery  and  the  In- 
quisition, if  these  more  than  popish  cruelties  and  inquisitorial 
practices  are  let  loose  among  us — to  turn  forth  into  our  settle- 
ments, among  our  ancient  connections,  friends,  and  relations, 
the  merciless  cannibal,  thirsting  for  the  blood  of  man,  woman, 
and  child !  to  send  forth  the  infidel  savage  —  against  whom? 
against  your  Protestant  brethren  ;  to  lay  waste  their  country, 
to  desolate  their  dwellings,  and  extirjoate  their  race  and  name 
with  these  horrible  hell-hounds  of  savage  war  —  hell-hounds, 
I  say,  of  savage  war!  Spain  armed  herself  with  blood-hounds 
to  extirpate  the  wretched  natives  of  America,  and  we  improve 
on  the  inhuman  example  even  of  Spanish  cruelty;  we  turn 
loose  these  savage  hell-hounds  against  our  brethren  and  coun- 
tiymen  in  America,  of  the  same  language,  laws,  liberties, 
and  religion,  endeared  to  us  by  every  tie  that  should  sanctify 
humanity. 

"  My  Lords,  this  awful  subject,  so  important  to  our  honor, 
our  Constitution,  and  our  religion,  demands  the  most  solemn 
and  effectual  inquiry;  and  I  again  call  upon  your  Lordships, 


262  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGTJIMENTATION. 

and  the  united  powers  of  the  State,  to  examine  it  thoroughly 
and  decisively,  and  to  stamp  upon  it  an  indelible  stigma  of  the 
public  abhorrence.  And  I  again  implore  those  holy  j^relates 
of  our  religion  to  do  away  these  iniquities  from  among  us. 
Let  them  perform  a  lustration;  let  them  purify  this  House, 
and  this  country,  from  this  sin."  ^ 

The  peroration  may  be  such  a  resume  of  what  has 
been  presented  as  to  show  that  the  speaker's  promises 
at  the  outset  have  been  fulfilled.  It  may  be  a  resume 
of  the  motives  toward  the  proposed  act  or 
oSiitS^*^^*  course  of  action.  This  is  not  mfrequent  in 
Webster's  sjDeeches.  It  may  combme  many 
elements  of  persuasive  discourse  m  rapid  succession, — 
story,  characterization,  argument,  mvective,  appeal  to 
sympathy,  to  justice,  to  humanity  to  fear ;  it  may  have 
the  simplicity  and  familiarity  of  the  Justice's  Court,  or 
the  gravity  and  dignity  of  the  House  of  Lords :  but  it 
must  be  orderly,  natural,  smcere  and  earnest.  It  must 
make  old  material  seem  fresh.  It  must  be  brief  with- 
out incompleteness,  concise  without  obscurity,  direct, 
forceful,  compellmg  men  to  seize,  hold  and  act  upon 
the  truth  established,  or  to  abandon  the  error  over- 
thrown. 

The  most  illustrious  secular  orators  have  been  great 
in  the  practical  uses  of  truth.  As  we  might  expect, 
their  power  has  culminated  m  their  conclusions.     There 

thev  have  pfirded  themselves  for  the  conquest 
Care  in  .  . 

Composing  of  their  audiences.  The  ancient  orators 
Perorations.    ^]^j,g^  ^^i^  utmost  vehemence  of  appeal  mto 

their  perorations.  Their  whole  reserve  of  might  and 
will  was  often  hurled  m  that  last  onset  upon  the  will 
of   their   hearers.      They   studied,    planned,    executed, 

1  Bradley,  Arguments  and  Orations,  85. 


THE    CONCLUSION    OK    PERORATION.  263 

finished  their  conclusions  with  most  sedulous  care. 
Their  fame  rests  more  surely  upon  their  perorations 
than  upon  any  other  one  feature  of  their  oratory. 

"Modern  eloquence,  also,  has  examples  of  the  same 
concentration  of  force,  impetuosity  of  movement,  and 
premeditated  skill  m  conclusions.  The  closmg  para- 
graphs of  Edmund  Burke's  first  speech  on  the  impeach- 
ment of  Warren  Hastings  ^  did  more  to  create  and  per- 
petuate his  fame  than  did  any  other  passage  of  his 
writings.  Hastings  himself  said  that  m  listenmg  to 
this,  he  felt  himself  to  be  the  most  guilty  man  alive. 
Those  paragraphs  Burke  elaborated  sixteen  times  before 
theh'  delivery.  Lord  Brougham's  conclusion  of  his  de- 
fense of  Queen  Caroline  ^  established  his  fame  as  an 
advocate  more  securely  than  anything  else  of  equal 
length,  that  he  ever  wrote.  That  conclusion  he  wrote 
and  re-wrote  tw^enty  times.  Probably  with  no  thought 
of  rhetorical  art  as  such,  these  men  achieved  these 
triumplis  of  oratorical  genius  through  the  mere  con- 
centration of  their  whole  mental  and  moral  being  upon 
the  attainment  of  their  object."  ^ 

The  following  examples  will  illustrate  the  wide  diver- 
sity of  plan,  material,  manner  of  treatment,  and  style,  in 
successful  perorations :  — 

"  The  whole  stor}^  is  roinaiitic.     The  plaintiff,  as  j'^ou  have 
seen,  is  growing  old,  a  fanner,  honest,  industrious  and  ingeni- 
ous ;  he  has  peddled  some  and  once  been  a  livery  man,  latet 
became  a  merchant.     In  1877  he  started  a  hard- 
ware, tinware    and   peddlers'   supplies   store,  and   Closing  of  a 
'  I  ff  y  Fraud  Case, 

later  had  a  branch  house.     He   had  little  or  no 

education,  was  not  even  able  to  read  or  write,  save  his  own 
name,  and  tliat  little  learning  was  a  damage  to  him,  for  he 

1  Page  231.  2  -page  253.  3  Plielps,  Lectures  on  rreaching,  49"). 


264  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

signed  checks  in  Ijlank,  and  trusted  them  to  boys  to  be  filled 
out  to  his  prejudice,  and  finally  to  his  financial  ruin. 

"  His  business  career  is  the  very  one  likely  to  follow  men  of 
his  lack  of  fitness  to  battle  with  the  storms  and  financial  dis- 
asters that  came  in  1878  —  that  whirlwind  of  bankruptcy  and 
failure  that  swept  through  the  country  like  a  tornado,  breaking 
down  strong  houses  and  carrying  away  men  that  had  before 
known  only  success  and  prosperity  ;  that  time  when  the  whole 
nation  was  rocked  by  the  strong  storm  of  financial  upheaving  ; 
when  the  broken  stocks  were  thrown  on  the  market,  when 
tramps  paraded  the  country,  when  men  cried  for  greenbacks 
and  a  change  —  any  change  —  in  money  matters,  till  the  whole 
bottom  of  our  financial  creation  seemed  falling  out,  and  the 
buildings  were  rolling  together  in  the  ruins,  then  was  the 
failure  of  this  farmer  merchant 

"  But  of  all  of  these  mighty  firms  that  went  under,  and  paid 
ten  cents  to  thirty  cents  on  the  dollar,  none  were  arrested  for 
fraud,  none  arrested  for  false  iDretenses  ;  some  failed  and  grew 
rich  ;  many  of  them  have  prospered  since,  and  seemed  honest. 
And  when  this  poor  farmer  failed  —  a  natural  failure  —  what 
do  we  find?  This  we  find  !  They  hunt  him  from  his  store, 
arrest  him  for  debt !  False  pretenses  !  drive  him  to  Canada  ! 
in  exile  from  his  family,  and  there  keep  him  seven  months,  in 
poverty  and  rags,  till  he  almost  starved  to  death,  living  on 
seven  cents  a  day,  then  they  send  lawyers,  and  try  to  force  him 
to  tell  lies,  then  sign  written  statements  of  lies,  then  swear  to 
lies,  and  he  refuses  till  counsel  is  sent  for,  and  advise  him  to  go 
home  !  And  he  goes  home  ;  and  lo  I  all  he  had  is  swept  away  ! 
He  had  secured  his  boy,  Clarence,  for  money  borrowed,  and  his 
friend  for  more  ;  but  all  is  gone  and  he  is  poor  ! 

"It  was  an  old  Roman  Commoner,  with  shaggy  hair  and 
grizzly  beard  and  bent  form  and  ragged  clothes,  who  nearly 
three  thousand  years  ago,  said  :  '  Eomans,  I  am  from  your 
debtors'  prison.  Once  I  traded  on  your  streets,  and  borrowed 
and  paid  again.  One  day  I  was  surety  for  a  friend  who  failed, 
and  I,  too,  failing  to  make  good  the  debt,  was  hurried  to  the 
prison  cell.     Romans,  I  am  free  now.     It  is  not  for  myself  I 


THE    CONCLUSION    OR    PERORATION.  265 

speak  thus,  but  lest  others  go  where  I  have  been,  I  would 
abolish  such  a  human  curse  ! '  His  story  moved  all  Rome  ! 
That  prison  was  abolished,  and  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  in 
Pennsylvania,  James  Buchanan  abolished  imprisonment  for 
debt,  by  a  powerful  appeal  in  his  state,  and  here  in  our  state 
the  intelligence  of  the  people  wiped  it  from  our  statute  books, 
and  still  a  barbarous  relic  of  false  pretenses  remains  ! 

*'  And  here  is  the  Roman  Commoner  who  pleads  by  his  looks 
and  acts,  '  I  would  abolish  such  a  curse  ! '  What  has  he  done  ? 
Deep  in  trade,  met  every  dollar  ever  due,  even  to  the  day  of 
his  leaving  for  Canada  ;  and  still  the  great  big  greedy  firms 
bear  down  on  him  Avith  iron  hands,  to  crush  him  and  not  only 
hold  all  he  has,  but  would  have  3'ou  rob  him  of  the  last  bright 
jewel  of  his  life  —  his  good  name,  his  honor  —  and  brand  him 
as  a  fraud  and  bring  him  on  to  prove  he  is  a  fraud  !  This  is 
the  grandest  audacity  I  ever  saw.  It  is  not  enough  to  take 
his  goods  and  break  him  up,  but  they  take  his  boy's  mortgage, 
his  exemption  that  the  state  allows,  and  all  he  had,  and  cry  for 
more  !  This  is  not  fair.  It  is  wrong.  It  is  cruel.  It  is  bar- 
barous. It  is  inhuman.  It  is  absolutely  cruel.  It  is  mean, 
gentleman  ! 

"  They  claim  he  secured  us  on  all  he  had,  while  they  are 
his  friends.  They  his  friends  !  Well,  gentlemen,  when  I  am 
fifty-five,  and  want  a  friend,  and  have  had  one  who  trusted 
me  to  goods  and  money,  one  I  confided  in.  and  I  secure 
him,  and  others  get  jealous  and  arrest  me,  try  to  put  me  in 
the  debtor's  prison,  drive  me  from  home,  seven  long  months  in 
poverty  and  rags,  try  to  buy  me  to  lie  and  swear  to  lying  state- 
ments, and  at  last  promise  to  pay  my  friend,  save  some  for  my 
boy,  and  I  come  home  and  find  their  attachments  have  taken 
all,  and  all  is  gone  !  which  shall  I  chose  for  a  friend?  This 
is  worse  than  border  ruflians  do  !  Let  me  illustrate  by  a 
story  :  — 

"  It  was  a  hot  evening  in  July,  18G0,  a  herdsman  was  mov- 
ing his  cattle  to  a  new  ranch  further  north,  near  Helena,  Texas, 
and  passing  down  the  banks  of  a  stream  his  herd  became  mixed 
with  other  cattle  that  were  grazing  in  the  valley,  and  some  of 
them  failed  to  be  separated.     The  next  day  about  noon  a  band 


266  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

of  a  dozen  mounted  Texas  Rangers  overtook  the  herdsman  and 
demanded  their  cattle,  which  they  said  were  stolen. 

"  It  was  before  the  days  of  law  and  court  houses  in  Texas, 
and  one  had  better  kill  five  men  than  to  steal  a  mule  worth  five 
dollars,  and  the  herdsman  knew  it.  He  tried  to  explain,  but 
they  told  him  to  cut  his  story  short.  He  offered  to  turn  over 
all  the  cattle  not  his  own,  but  they  laughed  at  this  j)roposi- 
tion,  and  hinted  that  they  usually  confiscated  the  whole  herd 
and  left  the  thief  hanging  on  a  tree  as  a  warning  to  others  in 
like  cases. 

"  The  poor  fellow  was  completely  overcome.  They  con- 
sulted apart  a  few  moments,  and  then  told  him  if  he  had  any 
explanations  to  make  or  business  to  do,  they  would  allow 
him  ten  minutes.  He  turned  to  the  rough  faces,  and  com- 
menced :  '  How  many  of  you  men  have  wives  ? '  Two  or 
three  nodded.  '  How  many  of  you  have  children  ? '  They 
nodded  again. 

"  '  Then  I  know  who  I  am  talking  to,  and  you'll  hear  me.' 
And  he  continued  :  '  I  never  stole  any  cattle  ;  I  have  lived  in 
these  parts  over  three  years.  I  came  from  New  Hampshire  ;  I 
failed  there  in  the  fall  of  '57,  during  the  panic.  I  have  been 
saving  ;  I  lived  on  hard  fare  ;  I  have  slept  out  on  the  ground  ; 
I  have  no  home  here.  My  family  remain  East,  for  I  go  from 
place  to  place.  These  clothes  I  wear  are  rough,  and  I  am  a 
hard-looking  customer  ;  but  this  is  a  hard  country.  Days  seem 
like  months  to  me,  and  months  like  years ;  married  men,  you 
know  that  but  for  the  letters  from  home  '  —  here  he  pulled  out 
a  handful  of  well-worn  envelopes  and  letters  from  his  wife,  — 
'  I  should  get  discouraged.  I  have  paid  part  of  my  debts.  Here 
are  the  receipts,'  — and  he  unfolded  the  letters  of  acknowledge- 
ment, — '  I  expected  to  sell  and  go  home  in  November.  Here 
is  the  testament  my  good  mother  gave  me  ;  here  is  my  little 
girl's  picture,  God  bless  her ! '  and  he  kissed  it  tenderly,  and 
continued  :  'Now,  men,  if  you  have  decided  to  kill  me  for  do- 
ing what  I  am  innocent  of,  send  these  home,  and  send  as  much 
as  you  can  from  the  cattle,  when  I  am  dead.  Can't  you  send 
half  their  value?  —  my  family  will  need  it.' 

"  '  Hold  on,  now,  stop  right  thar  ! '  said  a  rough  ranger.  '  Now 


THE    CONCLUSION    OR    PEROKATION.  267 

I  say,  boys,'  he  continued,  '  I  say,  let  him  go.  Give  us  your 
hand,  old  boy  ;  that  picture  and  them  letters  did  the  business. 
You  can  go  free  ;  but  you're  lucky,  mind  ye.' 

'^'AVe'll  do  more'n  that,'  said  a  man  with  a  big  heart,  in 
Texan  garb  and  carrying  the  customary  brace  of  pistols  in  his 
belt,  'let's  buy  his  herd  and  let  him  go  home  now.' 

"They  did,  and  when  the  money  was  paid  over,  and  the 
man  about  to  start,  he  was  too  weak  to  stand.  The  long  strain 
of  hopes  and  fears,  being  away  from  home  under  such  trying 
circumstances,  the  sudden  deliverance  from  death,  had  com- 
bined to  render  him  helpless  as  a  child.  He  sank  to  the  ground 
completely  overcome.  An  hour  later,  however,  he  left  on 
horseback  for  the  nearest  stage  route,  and,  as  they  shook  hands 
and  bade  him  good-bye,  they  looked  the  happiest  band  of  men 
ever  seen. 

"  So  deal  with  this  farmer. 

"  Such  men  do  not  steal.     Such  men  are  not  frauds. 

"They  claimed  to  be  his  friends.  So  do  we.  We  met  him 
in  his  dire  distress.     We  saw  him  poor. 

"Talk  of  jails,  talk  of  prisons,  talk  of  poverty  and  hunger ! 
It  was  more. 

"  Poverty,  rags  and  starvation  !  Xot  even  the  cattle  that  the 
exiled  herdsman  had  !  Banished  from  home  !  Unable  to  write  ! 
Deprived  of  the  letters  the  herdsman  had  !  The  prisoner  for 
debt  was  no  more  wronged  than  the  farmer  who  had  failed. 

"  Restore  him  his  character,  gentlemen  ;  and  think  in  after 
years,  how  you  hardened  not   your  hearts  !  "  ^ 

"My  Lords,  in  the  progress  of  this  impeachment,  you  have 
heard  our  charges  ;  3  ou  have  heard  the  prisoner's  plea  of  merits  ; 
you  have  heard  our  observations  on  them.     In  the  progress  of 
this  impeachment,  you  have  seen  the  condition  in   Burke's  Ap- 
which  ]Mr.  Hastings  received  Benares  ;  you  have   pealfor 
seen  the  condition  in  which  Mr.  Hastings  received   upon 
the  country  of  the  Rohillas  ;  you  have  seen  the   Hastings, 
condition  in  which  he  received  the  country  of  Oude  ;  you  have 
seen  the  condition  in  which  he  received  the  provinces  of  Bengal ; 

1  Judge  Donovan  in  Modern  Jury  Trials,  G71. 


268  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATIOX. 

you  have  seen  the  condition  of  the  country  when  the  native 
government  was  succeeded  by  that  of  Mr.  Hastings  ;  you  have 
seen  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  all  its  inhabitants,  from 
those  of  the  highest  to  those  of  the  lowest  rank.  My  Lords, 
you  have  seen  the  very  reverse  of  all  this  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Mr.  Hastings,  —  the  countiy  itself,  all  its  beauty  and 
glor}^  ending  in  a  jungle  for  wild  beasts.  You  have  seen 
flourishing  families  reduced  to  implore  that  pity  which  the 
poorest  man  and  the  meanest  situation  might  very  well  call  for. 
You  have  seen  whole  nations  in  the  mass  reduced  to  a  con- 
dition of  the  same  distress.  These  things  in  his  government  at 
home.  Abroad,  scorn,  contempt,  and  derision  cast  ujDon  and 
covering  the  British  name,  war  stirred  up,  and  dishonourable 
treaties  of  peace  made,  by  the  total  prostitution  of  British  faith. 
Now  take,  my  Lords,  together,  all  the  multii3lied  delinquencies 
which  we  have  proved,  from  the  highest  degree  of  tyranny  to 
the  lowest  degree  of  sharping  and  cheating,  and  then  judge,  my 
Lords,  whether  the  House  of  Commons  could  rest  for  one 
moment,  without  bringing  these  matters,  which  have  baffled 
all  legislation  at  various  times,  before  you,  to  try  at  last  what 
judgment  will  do.  Judgment  is  what  gives  force,  effect,  and 
vigour  to  laws ;  laws  without  judgment  are  contemptible  and 
ridiculous  ;  we  had  better  have  no  laws  than  laws  not  enforced 
by  judgments  and  suitable  penalties  upon  delinquents.  Ee- 
vert,  my  Lords,  to  all  the  sentences  which  have  heretofore  been 
passed  by  this  High  Court ;  look  at  the  sentence  passed  upon 
Lord  Bacon,  look  at  the  sentence  passed  ujDon  Lord  Maccles- 
field ;  and  then  compare  the  sentences  which  3'our  ancestors 
have  given  with  the  delinquencies  which  were  then  before  them, 
and  you  have  the  measure  to  be  taken  in  your  sentence  upon 
the  delinquent  now  before  you.  Your  sentence,  I  say,  will  be 
measured  according  to  that  rule  which  ought  to  direct  the  judg- 
ment of  all  courts  in  like  cases,  lessening  it  for  a  lesser  offense, 
and  aggravating  it  for  a  greater,  until  the  measure  of  justice  is 
completely  full. 

"  My  Lords,  1  have  done  ;  the  part  of  the  Commons  is  con- 
cluded. With  a  trembling  solicitude  we  consign  this  product  of 
our  long,  long  labours  to  your  charge.     Take  it  !  —  take  it  !     It 


THE    CONCLUSION    OR    PEEOEATION.  269 

is  a  sacred  trust.  Xever  before  was  a  cause  of  such  magnitude 
submitted  to  any  human  tribunal. 

"  My  Lords,  at  this  awful  close,  in  the  name  of  the  Com- 
mons, and  surrounded  by  them,  I  attest  the  retiring,  I  attest 
the  advancing  generations,  between  which,  as  a  link  in  the 
great  chain  of  eternal  order,  we  stand.  We  call  this  nation, 
we  call  the  world  to  witness,  that  the  Commons  have  shrunk 
from  no  labour,  that  we  have  been  guilty  of  no  prevarication, 
that  we  have  made  no  compromise  with  crime,  that  we  have 
not  feared  any  odium  whatsoever,  in  the  long  warfare  which 
we  have  carried  on  with  the  crimes,  w4th  the  vices,  with  the 
exorbitant  wealth,  with  the  enormous  and  overpowering  influ- 
ence of  Eastern  corruption.  This  war  we  have  waged  for 
tAventy-two  years,  and  the  conflict  has  been  fought  at  3'our 
Lordships'  bar  for  the  last  seven  years.  My  Lords,  twenty-two 
years  is  a  great  space  in  the  scale  of  the  life  of  man  ;  it  is  no 
inconsiderable  sj^ace  in  the  history  of  a  great  nation.  A  busi- 
ness which  has  so  long  occupied  the  councils  and  the  tribunals 
of  Great  Britain  cannot  possibly  be  huddled  over  in  the  course 
of  vulgar,  trite,  and  transitory  events.  Xotliing  but  some  of 
those  great  revolutions  that  break  the  traditionaiy  chain  of 
human  memor}^  and  alter  the  very  face  of  Xature  itself,  can 
possibly  obscure  it.  My  Lords,  we  are  all  elevated  to  a  degree 
of  imiDortance  by  it ;  the  meanest  of  us  will,  by  means  of  it, 
more  or  less  become  the  concern  of  posterity,  —  if  we  are  yet 
to  hope  for  such  a  thing,  in  the  present  state  of  the  world,  as 
a  recording,  retrospective,  civilized  posterity  :  but  this  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  great  Disposer  of  events  ;  it  is  not  ours  to 
settle  how  it  shall  be. 

"My  Lords,  your  house  yet  stands,  —  it  stands  as  a  great 
edifice  ;  but  let  me  say  that  it  stands  in  the  midst  of  ruins,  —  in 
the  midst  of  the  ruins  that  have  been  made  b}^  the  greatest 
moral  earthquake  that  ever  convulsed  and  shattered  this  globe 
of  ours.  My  Lords,  it  has  pleased  Providence  to  place  us  in 
such  a  state,  that  we  appear  every  moment  to  be  upon  the 
verge  of  some  great  mutations.  There  is  one  thing,  and  one 
thing  only,  which  defies  all  mutation,  —  that  wliicli  existed 
before  the  world,  and  will  survive  the  fabric  of  the  world  itself  : 


270  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

I  mean  justice,  —  that  justice  which,  emauatiiig  from  the 
Divinity,  has  a  place  in  the  breast  of  every  one  of  us,  given  us 
for  our  guide  with  regard  to  ourselves  and  with  regard  to 
others,  and  which  will  stand,  after  this  globe  is  burned  to 
ashes,  our  advocate  or  accuser  before  the  great  Judge,  when 
He  comes  to  call  upon  us  for  the  tenour  of  a  well-si3ent  life. 

"  My  Lords,  the  Commons  will  share  in  every  fate  with  your 
Lordshijis  ;  there  is  nothing  sinister  which  can  happen  to  3'ou, 
in  which  w^e  shall  not  be  involved.  And  if  it  should  so  hapj^en 
that  we  shall  be  subjected  to  some  of  those  frightful  changes 
which  we  have  seen  ;  if  it  should  hajopen  that  your  Lordships, 
stripped  of  all  the  decorous  distinctions  of  human  society, 
should,  by  hands  at  once  base  and  cruel,  be  led  to  those  scaf- 
folds and  machines  of  murder  upon  which  great  kings  and 
glorious  queens  have  shed  their  blood,  amidst  the  prelates, 
amidst  the  nobles,  amidst  the  magistrates  who  supported  their 
thrones,  may  you  in  those  moments,  feel  that  consolation 
which  I  am  persuaded  they  felt  in  the  critical  moments  of 
their  dreadful  agony  ! 

*'  My  Lords,  there  is  a  consolation,  —  and  a  great  consolation 
it  is!  —  which  often  happens  to  oppressed  virtue  and  fallen 
dignity.  It  often  happens  that  the  very  oppressors  and  perse- 
cutors themselves  are  forced  to  bear  testimony  in  its  favour.  I 
do  not  like  to  go  for  instances  a  great  way  back  into  antiquit}' . 
I  know  very  well  that  length  of  time  operates  so  as  to  give  an 
air  of  the  fabulous  to  remote  events,  which  lessens  the  interest 
and  weakens  the  application  of  examples.  I  wish  to  come 
nearer  the  present  time.  Your  Lordships  know  and  have 
heard  (for  which  of  us  has  not  known  and  heard  ? )  of  the 
Parliament  of  Paris.  The  Parliament  of  Paris  had  an  origin 
very,  very  similar  to  that  of  the  great  Court  before  which  I 
stand  ;  the  Parliament  of  Paris  continued  to  have  a  great  re- 
semblance to  it  in  its  constitution,  even  to  its  fall.  The  Par- 
liament of  Paris,  my  Lords,  avas  ;  it  is  gone  !  It  has  passed 
away  ;  it  has  vanished  like  a  dream  !  It  fell,  pierced  bj^  the 
sword  of  the  Comte  de  Mirabeau.  And  yet  I  will  sa}^  that  that 
man,  at  the  time  of  his  inflicting  tlie  death-wound  of  that  Par- 
liament, produced  at  once  the  shortest  and  the  grandest  funeral 


THE   CONCLUSION    OR    PERORATION.  271 

oration  that  ever  was  or  could  be  made  upon  the  departure  of 
a  great  court  of  magistracy.  Though  he  had  himself  smarted 
under  its  lash,  as  every  one  knows  who  knows  his  history,  (and 
he  was  elevated  to  dreadful  notoriety  in  history,)  yet,  when  he 
pronounced  the  death-sentence  upon  that  Parliament,  and  in- 
flicted the  mortal  wound,  he  declared  that  his  motives  for  doing 
it  were  merely  political,  and  that  their  hands  were  as  pure  as 
those  of  justice  itself,  which  they  administered.  A  great  and 
glorious  exit,  my  Lords,  of  a  great  and  glorious  body  !  And 
never  was  an  eulogy  pronounced  upon  a  body  more  deserved. 
They  were  persons,  in  nobility  of  rank,  in  amplitude  of  fortune, 
in  weight  of  authority,  in  depth  of  learning,  inferior  to  few  of 
those  that  hear  me.  My  Lords,  it  was  but  the  other  day  that 
they  submitted  their  necks  to  the  axe  ;  but  their  honour  was 
unwounded.  Their  enemies,  the  persons  who  sentenced  them 
to  death,  were  lawyers  full  of  subtlety,  they  were  enemies  full 
of  malice  ;  yet,  lawyers  full  of  subtlety,  and  enemies  full  of 
malice,  as  they  were,  they  did  not  dare  to  reproach  them  with 
having  supported  the  wealthy,  the  great,  and  powerful,  and  of 
having  oppressed  the  weak  and  feeble,  in  any  of  their  judg- 
ments, or  of  having  perverted  justice,  in  any  one  instance 
whatever,  through  favour,  through  interest,  or  cabal. 

"  My  Lords,  if  you  must  fall,  may  you  so  fall  !  But  if  you 
stand,  —  and  stand  I  trust  you  will,  together  with  the  fortune 
of  this  ancient  monarchy,  together  with  the  ancient  laws  and 
liberties  of  this  great  and  illustrious  kingdom,  — may  you  stand 
as  unimpeached  in  honour  as  in  power  !  May  you  stand,  not 
as  a  substitute  for  virtue,  but  as  an  ornament  of  virtue,  as  a 
security  for  virtue  !  May  you  stand  long,  and  long  stand  the 
terror  of  tyrants  !  May  you  stand  the  refuge  of  afflicted  na- 
tions !  May  you  stand  a  sacred  temple,  for  the  perpetual  resi- 
dence of  an  inviolable  justice  !  "  ^ 

1  Select  Works,  xii.  392. 


APPENDIX. 


WHITE    MURDER    TRIAL.  275 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WHITE   J^ITJEDER   CASE. 

The  following  outline  of  the  facts  will  assist  the  reader  to 
understand  the  bearings  of  the  argument. 

Joseph  ^Vhite,  Esq.,  was  found  murdered  in  his  bed,  in  his 
mansion-house,  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  April,  1880.  He 
was  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Salem,  eighty -two  years  of  age,  and 
had  for  many  years  given  up  active  business.  His  servant-man 
rose  that  morning  at  six  o'clock,  and  on  going  down  into  the 
kitchen,  and  opening  the  shutters  of  the  window,  saw  that  the 
back  window  of  the  east  parlor  was  open,  and  that  a  plank  was 
raised  to  the  window  from  the  back  yard  ;  he  then  went  into 
the  parlor,  but  saw  no  trace  of  any  person  having  been  there. 
He  went  to  the  apartment  of  the  maid-servant,  and  told  her, 
and  then  into  Mr.  White's  chamber  by  its  back  door,  and  saw 
that  the  door  of  his  chamber,  leading  into  the  front  entry,  was 
open.  On  approaching  the  bed,  he  found  the  bed-clothes  turned 
down,  and  Mr.  White  dead,  his  countenance  pallid,  and  his 
night-clothes  and  bed  drenched  in  blood.  He  hastened  to  the 
neighboring  houses  to  make  known  the  event.  He  and  the 
maid-servant  were  the  only  persons  who  slept  in  the  liouse  that 
night,  except  Mr.  White  himself,  whose  niece,  Mrs.  Beckford, 
his  house-keeper,  was  then  absent  on  a  visit  to  her  daughter, 
at  Wenham. 

The  physicians  and  the  coroner's  jury,  who  were  called  to  ex- 
amine the  body,  found  on  it  thirteen  deep  stabs,  made  as  if  by 
a  sharp  dirk  or  poniard,  and  the  appearance  of  a  heavy  blow  on 
the  left  temple,  which  had  fractured  the  skull,  but  not  broken 
the  skin.  The  body  was  cold,  and  appeared  to  have  been  life- 
less many  hours. 

On  examining  the  apartments  of  the  house,  it  did  not  appear 
that  any  valuable  articles  had  been  taken,  or  the  house  ran- 
sacked for  them  ;  there  was  a  rouleau  of  doubloons  in  an  iron 
chest  in  his  chamber,  and  costly  plate  in  other  apartments,  none 
of  which  was  missing. 

Large  rewards  for  the  detection  ol'  the  nmrdei-»'is  were  offered 


276  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

by  the  heirs  of  the  deceased,  by  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  and 
by  the  Governor  of  the  State.  The  citizens  held  a  public  meet- 
ing, and  appointed  a  Committee  of  Vigilance,  of  twenty-seven 
members,  to  make  all  possible  exertions  to  ferret  out  the 
offenders. 

Meantime  it  was  announced  that  a  bold  attempt  at  highway 
robbery  was  made  in  Wenham,  by  three  footpads,  on  Joseph  J. 
Knapp,  Jr.  and  John  Francis  Knapp,  on  the  evening  of  the 
27th  of  April,  while  they  were  returning  in  a  chaise  from  Salem 
to  their  residence  in  Wenham.  They  appeared  before  the  in- 
vestigating committee,  and  testified  to  the  attack. 

The  account  was  immediately  published  in  the  Salem  news- 
papers, with  the  editorial  remark,  that  "these  gentlemen  are 
well  known  in  this  town,  and  their  respectability  and  veracity 
are  not  questioned  by  any  of  our  citizens." 

Xot  the  slightest  clew  to  the  murder  could  be  found  for 
several  weeks,  and  the  mystery  seemed  to  be  impenetrable.  At 
length  a  prisoner  in  the  jail  at  New  Bedford,  seventy  miles 
from  Salem,  intimated  that  he  could  make  important  disclosures. 
A  confidential  messenger  was  immediately  sent,  to  ascertain 
what  he  knew  on  the  subject.  The  prisoner's  name  was  Hatch  ; 
he  had  been  committed  before  the  murder.  He  stated  that, 
some  months  before  the  murder,  he  had  associated  in  Salem 
with  Richard  Crowninshield,  Jr.,  of  Danvers,  and  had  often 
heard  Crowninshield  express  his  intention  to  destroy  the  life  of 
Mr.  White.  Crowninshield  was  a  young  man,  of  bad  reputa- 
tion ;  though  he  had  never  been  convicted  of  any  offence,  he 
was  strongly  suspected  of  several  heinous  robberies.  He  was 
of  dark  and  reserved  deportment,  temperate  and  wicked,  daring 
and  wary,  subtle  and  obdurate,  of  great  adroitness,  boldness, 
and  self-command.  He  had  for  several  years  frequented  the 
haunts  of  vice  in  Salem  ;  and  though  he  was  often  spoken  of 
as  a  dangerous  man,  his  person  was  known  to  few,  for  he  never 
walked  the  streets  by  daylight.  Among  his  few  associates  he 
was  a  leader  and  a  despot. 

The  disclosures  of  Hatch  received  credit.  When  the  Su- 
preme Court  met  at  Ipswich,  the  Attorney-General,  Morton, 
moved  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  ad  testif.,  and  Hatch  was 


WHITE   MURDER    TRIAL.  277 

carried  in  chains  from  Xew  Bedford  before  the  grand  jur}^, 
and  on  his  testimony  an  indictment  was  found  against  Crownin- 
shield.  Other  witnesses  testified  that,  on  the  night  of  the 
murder,  his  brother,  George  Crowninshield,  Colonel  Benjamin 
Selman,  of  Marblehead,  and  Daniel  Chase  of  Lynn,  were  to- 
gether in  Salem,  at  a  gambling-house  usually  frequented  by 
Richard  ;  these  were  indicted  as  accomplices  in  the  crime. 
They  were  all  arrested  on  the  2d  of  May,  arraigned  on  the  in- 
dictment, and  committed  to  prison  to  await  the  sitting  of  a 
court  that  should  have  jurisdiction  of  the  offence. 

A  fortnight  afterwards.  Captain  Joseph  J.  Knapp,  a  ship- 
master and  merchant,  a  man  of  good  character,  received  by 
mail  a  letter  signed,  "  Charles  Grant,  Jr.,"  demanding  a  large 
sum  of  money  and  threatening  to  make  ruinous  disclosures  if 
the  money  were  not  forthcoming  at  once. 

This  letter  was  an  unintelligible  enigma  to  Captain  Knapp; 
he  knew  no  man  of  the  name  of  Charles  Grant,  Jr.,  and  had 
no  acquaintance  at  Belfast,  a  town  in  Maine,  two  hundred 
miles  distant  from  Salem.  After  poring  over  it  in  vain,  he 
handed  it  to  his  son,  Nathaniel  Phippen  Knapp,  a  young  law- 
yer; to  him  also  the  letter  was  an  inexplicable  riddle.  Captain 
KnajDp  and  his  son  Phippen,  therefore,  concluded  to  ride  to 
Wenham,  seven  miles  distant,  and  show  the  letter  to  Captain 
KnapjD's  other  two  sons,  Joseph  J.  Knapj),  Jr.  and  John 
Francis  Knapp,  who  were  then  residing  at  AVenham  with  Mrs, 
Beckford,  the  niece  and  late  house-keeper  of  Mr.  White,  and 
the  mother  of  the  wife  of  J.  J.  Knapp,  Jr.  The  latter  perused 
the  letter,  told  his  father  it  '■'■  contained  a  devilish  lot  of  trash," 
and  requested  him  to  hand  it  to  the  Committee  of  Vigilance. 
Captain  Knapp,  on  his  return  to  Salem  that  evening,  accord- 
ingly delivered  the  letter  to  the  chairman  of  the  Connnittee. 

The  next  day  J.  J.  Knapp,  Jr.  went  to  Salem,  and  requested 
one  of  his  friends  to  drop  into  the  Salem  post-oflice  the  two 
following  pseudonymous  letters. 

"  Mmj  13,  1830. 
"  Gentlemex  of  the  Committee  of  Vigilance, —  Hearing  that  you 
have  taken  up  four  young  men  on  suspicion  of  being  concerned  in  the 
murder  of  Mr.  White,  I  think  it  time  to  inform  you  that  Stephen  White 


278  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AKGUMENTATION. 

came  to  me  one  night  and  told  me,  if  I  would  remove  the  old  gentleman, 
he  would  give  \\\e  live  thousand  dollars ;  he  said  he  was  afraid  he  would 
alter  his  will  if  he  lived  any  longer.  I  told  him  I  would  do  it,  but  I  was 
afeared  to  go  into  the  house,  so  he  said  he  would  go  with  me,  that  he 
would  try  to  get  into  the  house  in  the  evening  and  open  the  window, 
would  then  go  home  and  go  to  bed  and  meet  me  again  about  eleven.  I 
found  him,  and  we  both  went  into  his  chamber.  I  struck  him  on  the 
head  with  a  heavy  piece  of  lead,  and  then  stabbed  him  with  a  dirk;  he 
made  the  finishing  strokes  with  another.  He  promised  to  send  me  the 
money  next  evening,  and  has  not  sent  it  yet,  which  is  the  reason  that  I 
mention  this. 

"  Yours,  &C.J 

"Grant." 

This  letter  was  directed  on  the  outside  to  the  "  Hon.  Gideon 
Barstow,  Salem,"  and  put  into  the  post-office  on  Sunday  even- 
ing, May  16,  1830. 

"  Lynn,  May  12,  1830. 
"  Mr.  White  will  send  the  $5,000,  or  a  part  of  it,  before  to-morrow  night, 
or  suffer  the  painful  consequences. 

"  N.  Claxton,  4th." 

This  letter  was  addressed  to  the  "  Hon.  Stephen  White, 
Salem,  Mass.,"  and  was  also  jjut  into  the  post-office  in  Salem 
on  Sunday  evening. 

WTien  Knapp  delivered  these  letters  to  his  friend,  he  said 
his  father  had  received  an  anonymous  letter,  and  ''^Miat  I 
want  you  for  is  to  put  these  in  the  post-office  in  order  to  nip 
this  silly  affair  in  the  bud." 

The  Hon.  Stephen  White,  mentioned  in  these  letters,  was  a 
nephew  of  Joseph  White,  and  the  legatee  of  the  principal  part 
of  his  large  i^roperty. 

When  the  Committee  of  Vigilance  read  and  considered  the 
letter,  purporting  to  be  signed  by  Charles  Grant,  Jr.,  which 
had  been  delivered  to  them  by  Captain  Knapp,  they  immedi- 
ately despatched  a  discreet  messenger  to  Prospect,  in  Maine; 
he  explained  his  business  confidentially  to  the  postmaster 
there,  deposited  a  letter  addressed  to  Charles  Grant,  Jr.,  and 
awaited  the  call  of  Grant  to  receive  it.  He  soon  called  for  it, 
when  an  officer,  stationed  in  the  house,  stepped  forward  and 
arrested  Grant.     On  examining  him,  it  appeared  that  his  true 


WHITE   MURDER   TRIAL.  279 

name  was  Palmer.  While  he  protested  his  own  innocence,  he 
disclosed  that  he  had  been  an  associate  of  R.  Crowninshield, 
Jr.  and  George  Crowninshield;  had  spent  part  of  the  winter  at 
Danvers  and  Salem,  under  the  name  of  Carr;  part  of  the  time 
he  had  been  their  inmate,  concealed  in  their  father's  house  in 
Danvers;  that  on  the  2d  of  April  he  saw  from  the  windows  of 
the  house  Frank  Knapp  and  a  young  man  named  Allen  ride 
up  to  the  house;  that  George  walked  away  with  Frank,  and 
Eichard  with  Allen;  that  on  their  return,  George  told  Richard 
that  Frank  wished  them  to  undertake  to  kill  Mr.  White,  and 
that  J.  J.  Knapp,  Jr.  would  pay  one  thousand  dollars  for  the 
job.  They  proposed  various  modes  of  executing  it,  and  asked 
Palmer  to  be  concerned,  which  he  declined.  George  said  the 
house  keeper  would  be  away  at  the  time;  that  the  object  of 
Joseph  J.  Knapp,  Jr.  was  to  destroy  the  will,  because  it  gave 
most  of  the  property  to  Stephen  White;  that  Joseph  J.  Knapp, 
Jr.  was  first  to  destroy  the  will;  that  he  could  get  from  the 
housekeeper  the  keys  of  the  iron  chest  in  which  it  was  kept; 
that  Frank  called  again  the  same  day,  in  a  chaise,  and  rode 
away  with  Richard;  and  that  on  the  night  of  the  murder 
Palmer  stayed  at  the  Half-way  House,  in  Lynn. 

A  warrant  was  issued  at  once  against  Joseph  J.  Knapp,  Jr. 
and  John  Francis  Knapp,  and  they  were  taken  into  custody 
and  imprisoned  to  await  the  arrival  of  Palmer,  for  their  exam- 
ination. 

Joseph  J.  Knapp,  Jr.,  on  the  third  day  of  his  imprisonment, 
made  a  full  confession  that  he  projected  the  murder.  He 
knew  that  Mr.  White  had  made  his  will,  and  given  to  Mrs. 
J5eckford,  Knapp's  mother-in-law,  a  legacy  of  fifteen  thousand 
dollars;  but  if  he  died  without  leaving  a  will,  he  expected  she 
would  inherit  nearl}-  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  He  cor- 
roborated all  that  Palmer  had  said,  and  gave  full  details  of  the 
crime. 

Joseph  confessed  further  that  the  account  of  the  Wen  ham 
robbery,  on  the  27th  of  April,  was  a  sheer  fabrication.  After 
the  murder  Crowninshield  went  to  Wenham  in  company  with 
Frank  to  call  for  the  one  thousand  dollars.  He  was  not  able 
to  pay  the  whole,  but  gave  him  one  hundred  [ive-fraiic  pieces. 


280  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

Crowiiiiisliield  related  to  him  the  particulars  of  the  murder, 
told  him  where  the  club  which  he  had  used  was  hid,  and  said 
he  was  sorry  Joseph  had  not  got  the  right  will,  for  if  he  had 
known  there  was  another,  he  would  have  got  it.  JosejDh  sent 
Frank  afterwards  to  find  and  destroy  the  club,  but  he  said  he 
could  not  find  it.  When  Josej^h  made  the  confession,  he  told 
the  jDlace  where  the  club  was  concealed,  and  it  was  there 
found;  it  was  heavy,  made  of  hickory,  twenty-two  and  a  half 
inches  long,  of  a  smooth  surface  and  large  oval  head,  loaded 
with  lead,  and  of  a  form  adapted  to  give  a  mortal  blow  on  the 
skull  without  breaking  the  skin;  the  handle  was  suited  for  a 
firm  grasp.  Crowninshield  said  he  turned  it  in  a  lathe.  Joseph 
admitted  he  wrote  the  two  anonymous  letters. 

Crowninshield  had  hitherto  maintained  a  stoical  comjDOSure 
of  feeling;  but  when  he  was  informed  of  Knapp's  arrest,  his 
knees  smote  beneath  him,  the  sweat  started  out  on  his  stern 
and  pallid  face,  and  he  subsided  upon  his  bunk. 

Palmer  was  brought  to  Salem  in  irons,  and  committed  to 
prison.  Crowninshield  saw  him  taken  from  the  carriage.  He 
was  put  in  the  cell  directl}'  under  that  in  which  Crowninshield 
was  kept.  Several  members  of  the  Committee  entered  Palmer's 
cell  to  talk  with  him;  while  they  were  talking,  they  heard  a 
loud  whistle,  and,  on  looking  up,  saw  that  Crowninshield  had 
picked  away  the  mortar  from  the  crevice  between  the  blocks 
of  the  granite  floor  of  his  cell.  ^Vfter  the  loud  whistle,  he 
cried  out,  "Palmer!  Palmer!  "  and  soon  let  down  a  string,  to 
which  were  tied  a  pencil  and  a  slip  of  paper.  Two  lines  of 
poetry  were  written  on  the  paper,  in  order  that,  if  Palmer  was 
really  there,  he  should  make  it  known  by  capping  the  verses. 
Palmer  shrunk  away  into  a  corner,  and  was  soon  transferred 
to  another  cell. 

A  quantity  of  stolen  goods  was  found  concealed  in  the  barn 
of  Crowninshield,  in  consequence  of  information  from  Palmer. 

Crowninshield,  thus  finding  the  proofs  of  his  guilt  and  de- 
pravity thicken,  committed  suicide  by  hanging  himself  to  the 
bars  of  his  cell.  He  left  letters  to  his  father  and  brother,  ex- 
pressing in  general  terms  the  viciousness  of  his  life,  and  his 
hopelessness  of  escape  from  punishment. 


WHITE    MURDER    TRIAL.  281 

A  special  term  of  the  Supreme  Court  was  held  at  Salem  on 
the  20th  of  July,  for  the  trial  of  the  prisoners  charged  with  the 
murder;  it  continued  in  session  till  the  20th  of  August,  with 
a  few  days'  intermission.  An  indictment  for  the  murder  was 
found  against  John  Francis  Knapp,  as  principal,  and  Joseph 
J.  Knapp,  Jr.  and  George  Crowninshield,  as  accessories. 

The  principal,  John  Francis  Knapp,  was  first  put  on  trial. 
An  accessory  in  a  murder  could  not  be  tried  until  a  principal 
had  been  convicted.  He  was  defended  by  advocates  of  high 
reputation  for  ability  and  eloquence;  the  trial  was  long  and 
arduous,  and  the  witnesses  numerous.  His  brother  Joseph, 
who  had  made  a  full  confession,  on  the  government's  promise 
of  impunity  if  he  w^ould  in  good  faith  testify  the  truth,  w^as 
brought  into  court,  called  to  the  stand  as  a  witness,  but  de- 
clined to  testify.  To  convict  the  prisoner,  it  was  necessary 
for  the  government  to  prove  that  he  was  present^  actually  or 
constructively,  as  an  aider  or  abettor  in  the  murder.  The  evi- 
dence was  strong  that  there  was  a  consi3iracy  to  commit  the 
murder,  that  the  prisoner  was  one  of  the  conspirators,  that  at 
the  time  of  the  murder  he  was  in  Brown  Street  at  the  rear  of 
Mr.  White's  garden,  and  the  jury  were  satisfied  that  he  was  in 
that  place  to  aid  and  abet  in  the  murder,  ready  to  afford  assis- 
tance, if  necessary.     He  was  convicted. 


282  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 


DAl^IEL  A\TEBSTER'S  SPEECH  ON  THE  MURDER  OF 
CAPTAIN  JOSEPH  WHITE. 

An  argument  at  the  trial  of  John  Francis  Knapp, 
FOR  THE  Murder  of  Joseph  White,  of  Salem  in  Es- 
sex County,  Massachusetts,  on  the  night  of  the  6th 
of  April,  1830. » 

I  AM  little  accustomed,  Gentlemen,  to  the  part  which  I  am 
now  attempting  to  perform.  Hardly  more  than  once  or  twice 
has  it  happened  to  me  to  be  concerned  on  the  side  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  any  criminal  prosecution  whatever ;  and  never, 
until  the  present  occasion,  in  any  case  affecting  life. 

But  I  very  much  regret  that  it  should  have  been  thought 
necessary  to  suggest  to  j-ou  that  I  am  brought  here  to  "  hurry 
you  against  the  law  and  beyond  the  evidence.  "  I  hope  I 
have  too  much  regard  for  justice,  and  too  much  respect  for  my 
own  character,  to  attempt  either  ;  and  were  I  to  make  such  at- 
tempt, I  am  sure  that  in  this  court  nothing  can  be  carried 
against  the  law,  and  that  gentlemen,  intelligent  and  just  as 
you  are,  are  not,  by  an}^  power,  to  be  hurried  beyond  the  evi- 
dence. Though  I  could  well  have  wished  to  shun  this  occa- 
sion, I  have  not  felt  at  liberty  to  withold  my  professional  as- 
sistance, when  it  is  supposed  that  I  may  be  in  some  degree 
useful  in  investigating  and  discovering  the  truth  respecting 
this  most  extraordinary  murder.  It  has  seemed  to  be  a  duty 
incumbent  on  me,  as  on  ever}-  other  citizen,  to  do  my  best 
and  my  utmost  to  bring  to  light  the  perpetrators  of  this  crime. 
Against  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  as  an  individual,  I  can  not  have 
the  slightest  prejudice.  I  would  not  do  him  the  smallest  in- 
jury or  injustice.  But  I  do  not  affect  to  be  indifferent  to  the 
discovery  and  the  punishment  of  this  deep  guilt.  I  cheerfully 
share  in  the  opprobrium,  how  great  soever  it  may  be,  which  is 

1  By  kind  permission  of  Messrs.  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  from  the  Great 
Speeches  and  Orations  of  Daniel  Webster.  Witli  an  essay  on  Webster 
as  a  master  of  English  style.  With  two  steel  portraits.  By  Edwin  P. 
Whipple. 


webstek's  speech.  283 

cast  on  those  who  feel  and  manifest  an  anxious  concern  that 
all  who  had  a  part  in  planning,  or  a  hand  in  executing,  this 
deed  of  midnight  assassination,  may  be  brouglit  to  answer  for 
their  enormous  crime  at  the  bar  of  public  justice.' 

Gentlemen,  it  is  a  most  extraordinary  case.  In  some  re- 
spects, it  has  hardly  a  precedent  anywhere  ;  certainly  none  in 
our  New  England  history.  This  bloody  drama  exhibited  no 
suddenly  excited,  ungovernable  rage.  The  actors  in  it  were 
not  surprised  by  any  lionlike  temptation  springing  upon  their 
virtue,  and  overcoming  it,  before  resistance  could  begin.  N^or 
did  they  do  the  deed  to  glut  savage  vengeance,  or  satiate  long- 
settled  and  deadly  hate.  It  was  a  cool,  calculating,  money- 
making  murder.  It  was  all  "hire  and  salary,  not  revenge." 
It  was  the  weighing  of  money  against  life ;  the  counting  out 
of  so  man}'  j^ieces  of  silver  against  so  man}'  ounces  of  blood. 

An  aged  man,  without  an  enemy  in  the  world,  in  his  own 
house,  and  in  his  own  bed,  is  made  the  victim  of  a  butcherly 
murder,  for  mere  pay.^  Truly,  here  is  a  new  lesson  for  painters 
and  poets.  Whoever  shall  hereafter  draw  the  portrait  of  mur- 
der, if  he  will  show  it  as  it  has  been  exhibited,  where  such  ex- 
ample was  last  to  have  been  looked  for,  in  the  very  bosom  of 
our  N'ew  England  society,  let  him  not  give  it  the  grim  visage 
of  Moloch,  the  brow  knitted  by  revenge,  the  face  black  with 
settled  hate,  and  the  bloodshot  eye  emitting  livid  fires  of 
malice.  Let  him  draw,  rather,  a  decorous,  smooth-faced, 
bloodless  demon  ;  a  picture  in  repose,  rather  than  in  action  ; 
not  so  much  an  example  of  human  nature  in  its  depravity,  and 
in  its  paroxysms  of  crime,  as  an  infernal  being,  a  fiend,  in  the 
ordinary  display  and  development  of  his  character. 

The  deed  was  executed  with  a  degree  of  self-possession  and 
steadiness  equal  to  the  wickedness  with  which  it  was  planned. 
The  circumstances  now  clearly  in  evidence  spread  out  the 
whole  scene  before  us.  Deep  sleep  had  fallen  on  the  destined 
victim,  and  on  all  beneath  his  roof.  A  healthful  old  man,  to 
whom  sleep  was  sweet,  the  first  sound  slumbers  of  the  night 
held  him  in  their  soft  but  strong  embrace.  The  assassin 
enters,  through  the  window  already  prepared,  into  an  unoc- 
1  Pages  8-11,  223.  2  April  7. 


284  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    AKGUMENTATION. 

cupied  apartment.  With  noiseless  foot  lie  paces  the  lonely 
hall,  half  lighted  by  the  moon  ;  he  winds  up  the  ascent  of  the 
stairs,  and  reaches  the  door  of  the  chamber.  Of  this,  he  moves 
the  lock,  by  soft  and  continued  pressure,  till  it  turns  on  its 
hinges  without  noise  ;  and  he  enters,  and  beholds  his  victim 
before  him.  The  room  is  uncommonly  open  to  the  admission 
of  light.  The  face  of  the  innocent  sleeper  is  turned  from  the 
murderer,  and  the  beams  of  the  moon,  resting  on  the  gray  locks 
of  his  aged  temple,  show  him  where  to  strike.  The  fatal  blow 
is  given  !  and  the  victim  passes,  without  a  struggle  or  a  motion, 
from  the  repose  of  sleep  to  the  repose  of  death  !  It  is  the  assas- 
sin's purpose  to  make  sure  work  ;  and  he  plies  the  dagger,  though 
it  is  obvious  that  life  has  been  destroyed  by  the  blow  of  the  blud- 
geon. He  even  raises  the  aged  arm,  that  he  may  not  fail  in  his 
aim  at  the  heart,  and  replaces  it  again  over  the  wounds  of  the 
poniard  I  To  finish  the  picture,  he  explores  the  wrist  for  the 
pulse  I  He  feels  for  it,  and  ascertains  that  it  beats  no  longer  ! 
It  is  accomplished.  The  deed  is  done.  He  retreats,  retraces 
his  steps  to  the  window,  passes  out  through  it  as  he  came  in, 
and  escapes.  He  has  done  the  murder.  jSTo  eye  has  seen  him, 
no  ear  has  heard  him.  The  secret  is  his  own,  and  it  is  safe  !  i 
Ah  !  Gentleman,  that  was  a  dreadful  mistake.  Such  a  secret 
can  be  safe  nowhere.  The  whole  creation  of  God  has  neither 
nook  nor  corner  where  the  guilty  can  bestow  it,  and  say  it  is 
safe.  Xot  to  speak  of  that  eye  which  pierces  through  all  dis- 
guises, and  beholds  every  thing  as  in  the  splendor  of  noon, 
such  secrets  of  guilt  are  never  safe  from  detection,  even  by 
men.  True  it  is,  generally  speaking,  that  '•'  murder  will  out." 
True  it  is,  that  Providence  hath  so  ordained,  and  doth  so  govern 
things,  that  those  who  break  the  great  law  of  Heaven  by  shed- 
ing  man's  blood  seldom  succeed  in  avoiding  discovery.  Es- 
pecially in  a  case  exciting  so  much  attention  as  this,  discovery 
must  come,  and  will  come,  sooner  or  later.  A  thousand  eyes 
turn  at  once  to  explore  every  man,  every  thing,  every  circum- 
stance, connected  with  the  time  and  place  ;  a  thousand  ears 
catch  every  whisper  ;  a  thousand  excited  minds  intensely  dwell 
on  the  scene,  shedding  all  their  light,  and  ready  to  kindle  the 
I  J.  J.  Kuapp's  Confession.    See  pages  243,  246. 


Webster's  speech.  285 

slightest  circumstance  into  a  blaze  of  discovery.  Meantime  the 
guilty  soul  cannot  keep  its  own  secret.  It  is  false  to  itself  ;  or 
rather  it  feels  an  irresistible  impulse  of  conscience  to  be  true  to 
itself.  It  labors  under  its  guilty  possession,  and  knows  not 
what  to  do  Avith  it.  The  human  heart  was  not  made  for  the 
residence  of  such  an  inhabitant.  It  finds  itself  preyed  on  by  a 
torment,  which  it  dares  not  acknowledge  to  God  or  man.  A 
vulture  is  devouring  it,  and  it  can  ask  no  sympathy  or  assist- 
ance, either  from  heaven  or  earth.  The  secret  which  the  mur- 
derer possesses  soon  comes  to  possess  him ;  and,  like  the  evil 
spirits  of  which  we  read,  it  overcomes  him,  and  leads  him 
whithersoever  it  will.  He  feels  it  beating  at  his  heart,  rising 
to  his  throat,  and  demanding  disclosure.  He  thinks  the  whole 
world  sees  it  in  his  face,  reads  it  in  his  eyes,  and  almost  hears 
its  workings  in  the  very  silence  of  his  thoughts.  It  has  be- 
come his  master.  It  betrays  his  discretion,  it  breaks  down  his 
courage,  it  conquers  his  prudence.  When  suspicions  from  with- 
out begin  to  embarrass  him,  and  the  net  of  circumstance  to  en- 
tangle him,  the  fatal  secret  struggles  with  still  greater  violence 
to  burst  forth.  It  must  be  confessed,  it  Avill  be  confessed  ; 
iliere  is  no  refuge  from  confession  but  suicide,  and  suicide  is 
confession.' 

Much  has  been  said,  on  this  occasion,  of  the  excitement 
which  has  existed,  and  still  exists,  and  of  the  extraordinary 
measures  taken  to  discover  and  punish  the  guilty.^  Xo  doubt 
there  has  been,  and  is,  much  excitement,  and  strange  indeed  it 
would  be  had  it  been  otherwise.  Should  not  all  the  peaceable 
and  well-disposed  naturally  feel  concerned,  and  naturally  exert 
themselves  to  bring  to  punishment  the  authors  of  this  secret 
assassination  ?  Was  it  a  thing  to  be  slept  upon  or  forgotten  ? 
Did  you.  Gentlemen,  sleep  quite  as  quietly  in  your  beds  after 
this  murder  as  before?  AVas  it  not  a  case  for  rewards,  for 
meetings,  for  committees,  for  the  united  efforts  of  all  the  good, 
to  find  out  a  band  of  murderous  conspirators,  of  midnight  ruf- 
fians, and  to  bring  them  to  the  bar  of  justice  and  law  ?  If  this 
be  excitement,  is  it  an  unnatural  or  an  improper  excitement  ? 

1  Crowninshield  committed  suicide,  June  15.    See  page  9. 

2  Page  207. 


286  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMEKTATION. 

It  seems  to  me,  Gentlemen,  that  there  are  appearances  of  an- 
other feeling,  of  a  very  different  nature  and  character  ;  not  very 
extensive,  I  would  hope,  but  still  there  is  too  much  evidence 
of  its  existence.  Such  is  human  nature,  that  some  persons  lose 
their  abhorrence  of  crime  in  their  admiration  of  its  magnificent 
exhibitions.  Ordinary  vice  is  reprobated  by  them,  but  extraor- 
dinary guilt,  exquisite  wickedness,  the  high  flights  and  poetry 
of  crime,  seize  on  the  imagination,  and  lead  them  to  forget  the 
depths  of  the  guilt,  in  admiration  of  the  excellence  of  the  per- 
formance, or  the  unequalled  atrocity  of  the  purpose.  There  are 
those  in  our  day  who  have  made  great  use  of  this  infirmit}^  of 
our  nature,  and  by  means  of  it  done  infinite  injury  to  the  cause 
of  good  morals.  They  have  affected  not  only  the  taste,  but  I 
fear  also  the  principles,  of  the  young,  the  heedless,  and  the 
imaginative,  by  the  exhibition  of  interesting  and  beautiful 
monsters.  They  render  depravity  attractive,  sometimes  by  the 
polish  of  its  manners,  and  sometimes  by  its  very  extravagance  ; 
and  study  to  show  off  crime  under  all  the  advantages  of  clever- 
ness and  dexterity.  Gentlemen,  this  is  an  extraordinary  murder, 
but  it  is  still  a  murder.  We  are  not  to  lose  ourselves  in  wonder 
at  its  origin,  or  in  gazing  on  its  cool  and  skilful  execution.  We 
are  to  detect  and  to  punish  it ;  and  while  we  proceed  with  cau- 
tion against  the  prisoner,  and  are  to  be  sure  that  we  do  not 
visit  on  his  head  the  offences  of  others,  we  are  yet  to  consider 
that  we  are  dealing  with  a  case  of  most  atrocious  crime,  which 
has  not  the  slightest  circumstance  about  it  to  soften  its  enor- 
mity.    It  is  murder  ;  deliberate,  concerted,  malicious  murder. 

Although  the  interest  of  this  case  may  have  diminished  by 
the  repeated  investigation  of  the  facts  ;  still,  the  additional 
labor  which  it  im^Doses  upon  all  concerned  is  not  to  be  re- 
gretted, if  it  should  result  in  removing  all  doubts  of  the  guilt 
of  the  prisoner. 

The  learned  counsel  for  the  j^risoner  has  said  truly,  that  it  is 
your  individual  duty  to  judge  the  prisoner  ;  that  it  is  your  in- 
dividual duty  to  determine  his  guilt  or  innocence  ;  and  that  you 
are  to  weigh  the  testimony  with  candor  and  fairness.  But  much 
at  the  same  time  has  been  said,'  which,  although  it  would  seem 
1  Page  207. 


WEBSTER  S    SPEECH.  Z^l 

to  have  no  distinct  bearing  on  the  trial,  cannot  be  i^assed  over 
without  some  notice. 

A  tone  of  complaint  so  peculiar  has  been  indulged,  as  would 
almost  lead  us  to  doubt  whether  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  or  the 
managers  of  this  prosecution,  are  now  on  trial.  ,  Great  pains 
have  been  taken  to  complain  of  the  manner  of  the  prosecution. 
We  hear  of  getting  up  a  case;  of  setting  in  motion  trains  of 
machinery;  of  foul  testimony;  of  combinations  to  overwhelm 
the  prisoner;  of  private  prosecutors;  that  the  prisoner  is  hunted, 
persecuted,  driven  to  his  trial;  that  everybody  is  against  him; 
and  various  other  complaints,  as  if  those  who  Avould  bring  to 
punishment  the  authors  of  this  murder  were  almost  as  bad  as 
they  who  committed  it. 

In  the  course  of  my  whole  life,  I  have  never  heard  before 
so  much  said  about  the  particular  counsel  who  hapjien  to  be 
employed;  as  if  it  were  extraordinary  that  other  counsel 
than  the  usual  officers  of  the  government  should  assist  in  the 
management  of  a  case  on  the  part  of  the  government.  In 
one  of  the  last  criminal  trials  in  this  county,  that  of  Jack- 
man  for  the  "  Goodridge  robbery"  (so  called),  I  remember 
that  the  learned  head  of  the  Suffolk  Bar,  Mr.  Prescott,  came 
down  in  aid  of  the  officers  of  the  government.  This  was 
regarded  as  neither  strange  nor  improper.  The  counsel  for 
the  prisoner,  in  that  case,  contented  themselves  with  answer- 
ing his  arguments,  as  far  as  they  were  able,  instead  of  carping 
at  his  presence.' 

Complaint  is  made  that  rewards  were  offered,  in  this  case, 
and  temptations  held  out  to  obtain  testimony.  Are  not  re- 
wards always  offered,  when  great  and  secret  offences  are  com- 
mitted? Kewards  were  offered  in  the  case  to  which  I  have 
alluded;  and  every  other  means  taken  to  discover  the  offenders, 
that  ingenuity  or  the  most  persevering  vigilance  could  suggest. 
The  learned  counsel  have  suffered  their  zeal  to  lead  them  into 
a  strain  of  complaint  at  the  manner  in  which  the  perpetrators 
of  this  crime  were  detected,  almost  indicating  that  they  re- 
gard it  as  a  positive  injury  to  them  to  have  found  out  their  guilt. 
Since  no  man  witnessed  it,  since  they  do  not  now  confess  it, 
1  Page  140. 


288  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGTJMENTATION. 

attempts  to  discover  it  are  half  esteemed  as  officious  inter- 
meddling and  impertinent  inquiry.' 

It  is  said,  that  here  even  a  Committee  of  Vigilance  was 
appointed.'  This  is  a  subject  of  reiterated  remark.  This  com- 
mittee are  pointed  at,  as  though  they  had  been  officiously  in- 
termeddling with  the  administration  of  justice.  They  are  said 
to  have  been  "  laboring  for  months "  against  the  prisoner. 
Gentlemen,  what  must  we  do  in  such  a  case  ?  Are  people  to 
be  dumb  and  still,  through  fear  of  overdoing  ?  It  is  come  to 
this,  that  an  effort  cannot  be  made,  a  hand  cannot  be  lifted,  to 
discover  the  guilty,  without  its  being  said  there  is  a  combina- 
tion to  overwhelm  innocence  ?  Has  the  community  lost  all 
moral  sense  ?  Certainly,  a  community  that  would  not  be 
roused  to  action  upon  an  occasion  such  as  this  was,  a  com- 
munity which  should  not  deny  sleep  to  their  eyes,  and  slumber 
to  their  eyelids,  till  they  had  exhausted  all  the  means  of  dis- 
covery and  detection,  must  indeed  be  lost  to  all  moral  sense, 
and  would  scarcely  deserve  protection  from  the  laws.  The 
learned  counsel  have  endeavored  to  persuade  you,  that  there 
exists  a  prejudice  against  the  persons  accused  of  this  murder. 
They  would  have  you  understand  that  it  is  not  confined  to  this 
vicinity  alone;  but  that  even  the  legislature  have  caught  this 
spirit  ;  that  through  the  procurement  of  the  gentleman  here 
styled  private  prosecutor,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Senate,  a 
special  session  of  this  court  was  appointed  for  the  trial  of  these 
offenders ;  that  the  ordinary  movements  of  the  wheels  of 
justice  were  too  slow  for  the  purposes  devised.  But  does  not 
everybody  see  and  know,  that  it  was  matter  of  absolute  neces- 
sity to  have  a  special  session  of  the  court  ?  AVhen  or  how 
could  the  prisoners  have  been  tried  without  a  special  session  ? 
In  the  ordinary  arrangement  of  the  courts,  but  one  week  in  a 
j'ear  is  allotted  for  the  whole  court  to  sit  in  this  county.  In 
the  trial  of  all  capital  offences  a  majority  of  the  court,  at  least, 
is  required  to  be  present.  In  the  trial  of  the  present  case 
alone,  three  weeks  have  already  been  taken  up.  Without  such 
special  session,  then,  three  years  would  not  have  been  sufficient 
for  the  purpose.  It  is  answer  sufficient  to  all  complaints  on 
1  Page  207. 


Webster's  speech.  289 

this  subject  to  say,  that  the  law  was  drawn  by  the  late  Chief 
Justice  himself,'  to  enable  the  court  to  accomplish  its  duties, 
and  to  afford  the  j^ersons  accused  an  opportunity  for  trial 
without  delay. 

Again,  it  is  said  that  it  was  not  thought  of  making  Francis 
Knapp,  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  a  principal  till  after  the  death 
of  Richard  Crowninshield,  Jr.;  that  the  present  indictment  is 
an  after-thought;  that  "  testimony  was  got  up  "  for  the  occasion. 
It  is  not  so.  There  is  no  authority  for  this  suggestion.  The 
case  of  the  Knapps  had  not  then  been  before  the  grand  jmj. 
The  officers  of  the  government  did  not  know  what  the  testi- 
mony would  be  against  them.  They  could  not,  therefore, 
have  determined  what  course  they  should  pursue.  They  in- 
tended to  arraign  all  as  principals  who  should  appear  to  have 
been  principals,  and  all  as  accessories  who  should  appear  to 
have  been  accessories.  All  this  could  be  known  only  when 
the  evidence  should  be  produced. 

But  the  learned  counsel  for  the  defendant  take  a  somewhat 
loftier  flight  still.  They  are  more  concerned,  they  assure  us, 
for  the  law  itself,  than  even  for  their  client. ^  Your  decision  in 
this  case,  they  say,  will  stand  as  a  precedent.  Gentlemen,  we 
hope  it  will.  We  hope  it  will  be  a  precedent  both  of  candor 
and  intelligence,  of  fairness  and  of  firmness;  a  precedent  of  good 
sense  and  honest  purpose  pursuing  their  investigation  dis- 
creetly, rejecting  loose  generalities,  ex^Dloring  all  the  circum- 
stances, weighing  each,  in  search  of  truth,  and  embracing  and 
declaring  the  truth  when  found. 

It  is  said,  that  "laws  are  made,  not  for  the  punishment  of 
the  guilty,  but  for  the  protection  of  the  innocent."  This  is 
not  quite  accurate,  perhaps,  but  if  so,  we  hope  they  will  be  so 
administered  as  to  give  that  jorotection.  But  who  are  the  in- 
nocent whom  the  law  would  protect?  Gentlemen,  Joseph 
White  was  innocent.  They  are  innocent  who,  having  lived  in 
the  fear  of  God  through  the  day,  wish  to  sleep  in  his  peace 
through  the  night,  in  their  own  beds.  The  law  is  established 
that  those  who  live  quietly  may  sleep  quietly;  that  they  who 
do  no  harm  may  feel  none.  The  gentleman  can  think  of  none 
1  Chief  Justice  Parker.     Sec  page  51.  2  Page  101. 


290  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

that  arc  innocent  except  the  prisoner  at  the  bar;,  not  yet  con- 
victed. Is  a  i^roved  conspirator  to  murder  innocent  ?  Are  the 
Crowninshields  and  the  Knapps  innocent?  What  is  inno- 
cence? How  deep  stained  with  blood,  how  reckless  in  crime, 
how  deep  in  depravity  may  it  be,  and  yet  retain  innocence  ? 
The  law  is  made,  if  we  would  speak  with  entire  accuracy,  to 
l^rotect  the  innocent  by  punishing  the  guilty.  But  there  are 
those  innocent  out  of  a  court,  as  Avell  as  in;  innocent  citizens 
not  suspected  of  crime,  as  well  as  innocent  prisoners  at  the 
bar. 

The  criminal  law  is  not  founded  in  a  jirinciple  of  vengeance. 
It  does  not  punish  that  it  may  inflict  suffering.  The  humanity 
of  the  law  feels  and  regrets  every  pain  it  causes,  ever}^  hour  of 
restraint  it  imjioses,  and  more  deeply  still  every  life  it  forfeits. 
But  it  uses  evil  as  the  means  of  preventing  greater  evil.  It 
seeks  to  deter  from  crime  by  the  example  of  punishment. 
This  is  its  true,  and  onl}'  true  main  object.  It  restrains  the 
liberty  of  the  few  offenders,  that  the  many  who  do  not  offend 
may  enjoy  their  liberty.  It  takes  the  life  of  the  murderer,  that 
other  murders  may  not  be  committed.  The  law  might  open 
the  jails,  and  at  once  set  free  all  persons  accused  of  offences, 
and  it  ought  to  do  so  if  it  could  be  made  certain  that  no  other 
offences  would  hereafter  be  committed;  because  it  punishes, 
not  to  satisfy  any  desire  to  inflict  pain,  but  simply  to  prevent 
the  repetition  of  crimes.  When  the  guilty,  therefore,  are  not 
punished,  the  law  has  so  far  failed  of  its  purpose;  the  safety  of 
the  innocent  is  so  far  endangered.  Every  unpunished  murder 
takes  away  something  from  the  security  of  every  man's  life. 
"WTienever  a  jury,  through  whimsical  and  ill-founded  scruples, 
suffer  the  guilty  to  escape,  they  make  themselves  answerable 
for  the  augmented  danger  of  the  innocent. 

We  wish  nothing  to  be  strained  against  this  defendant.  Why, 
then,  all  this  alarm  ?  AVhy  all  this  complaint  against  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  crime  is  discovered  ?  The  prisoner's  counsel 
catch  at  supposed  flaws  of  evidence,  or  bad  character  of  wit- 
nesses, without  meeting  the  case.'  Do  they  mean  to  deny  the 
conspiracy?    Do  they  mean  to   deny  that  the  two  Crownin- 

1  Page  29. 


Webster's  speech.  291 

shields  and  the  two  Knapps  were  conspirators  ?  Why  do  they 
rail  against  Palmer,  while  they  do  not  disprove,  and  hardly  dis- 
pute, the  truth  of  any  one  fact  sworn  to  by  him?  Instead  of 
this,  it  is  made  matter  of  sentimentality  that  Palmer  has  been 
prevailed  upon  to  betray  his  bosom  companions  and  to  violate 
the  sanctity  of  friendship.  Again  I  ask.  Why  do  they  not  meet 
the  case  ?  If  the  fact  is  out,  why  not  meet  it  ?  Do  they  mean 
to  deny  that  Captain  AVhite  is  dead  ?  One  would  have  almost 
supposed  even  that,  from  some  remarks  that  have  been  made. 
Do  they  mean  to  deny  the  conspiracy  ?  Or,  admitting  a  con- 
spiracy, do  they  mean  to  deny  only  that  Frank  Knapp,  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar,  was  abetting  in  the  murder,  being  present, 
and  so  deny  that  he  was  a  principal  ?  If  a  conspiracy  is  proved, 
it  bears  closely  upon  every  subsequent  subject  of  inquiry.  Why 
do  they  not  come  to  the  fact  ?  Here  the  defense  is  wholly  in- 
distinct. The  counsel  neither  take  the  ground,  nor  abandon 
it.'  They  neither  fly,  nor  light.  They  hover.  But  they  must 
come  to  a  closer  mode  of  contest.  They  must  meet  the  facts, 
and  either  deny  or  admit  them.  Had  the  prisoner  at  the  bar, 
then,  a  knowledge  of  this  conspiracy  or  not?  This  is  the  ques- 
tion. Instead  of  laying  out  their  strength  in  complaining  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  deed  is  discovered,  of  the  extraordinary 
pains  taken  to  bring  the  prisoner's  guilt  to  light,  would  it  not 
be  better  to  show  there  was  no  guilt  ?  Would  it  not  be  better 
to  show  his  innocence  ?  They  say,  and  they  complain,  that 
the  community  feel  a  great  desire  -that  he  should  be  punished 
for  his  crimes.  Would  it  not  be  better  to  convince  you  that  he 
has  committed  no  crime  ? 

Gentlemen,  let  us  now  come  to  the  case.*  Your  first  inquiry, 
on  the  evidence,  will  be,  Was  Captain  White  murdered  in  pur- 
suance of  a  conspirac}',  and  was  the  defendant  one  of  this  con- 
spiracy ?  If  so,  the  second  inquiry  is.  Was  he  so  connected  with 
the  murder  itself  as  that  he  is  liable  to  be  convicted  as  a  jjri?i- 
cipal  ?  The  defendant  is  indicted  as  a  principal.'^  If  not  guilty 
as  such,  you  cannot  convict  him.  The  indictment  contains 
three  distinct  classes  of  counts.  In  the  first,  he  is  charged  as 
having  done  the  deed  with  his  own  hand  ;  in  the  second,  as  au 
1  Page  28.  '^  Page  34.  a  Pages  14,  194. 


292  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATION. 

aider  and  abettor  to  Richard  Crowninshield,  Jr.,  who  did  the 
deed  ;  in  the  third,  as  an  aider  and  abettor  to  some  person 
unknown.  If  }'ou  beheve  him  guilty  on  either  of  these  counts, 
or  in  either  of  tliese  ways,  you  must  convict  him. 

It  may  be  proper  to  say,  as  a  preliminary  remark,  that  there 
are  two  extraordinary  circumstances  attending  this  trial.  One  is, 
that  Richard  Crowninshield,  Jr.,  the  supi^osed  immediate  perpe- 
trator of  the  murder,  since  his  arrest,  has  committed  suicide.  He 
has  gone  to  answer  before  a  tribunal  of  perfect  infallibility.  The 
other  is,  that  JosejDh  Knapp,  the  supposed  originator  and  plan- 
ner of  the  murder,  having  once  made  a  full  disclosure  of  the 
facts,  under  a  promise  of  indemnity,  is,  nevertheless,  not  now  a 
witness.  Notwithstanding  his  disclosure  and  his  promise  of  in- 
demnity, he  now  refuses  to  testify.  He  chooses  to  return  to 
his  original  state,  and  now  stands  answerable  himself,  when 
the  time  shall  come  for  his  trial.  These  circumstances  it  is  fit 
you  should  remember,  in  your  investigation  of  the  case. 

Your  decision  may  affect  more  than  the  life  of  this  defend- 
ant. If  he  be  not  convicted  as  principal,  no  one  can  be.  Xor 
can  any  one  be  convicted  of  a  participation  in  the  crime  as 
accessory.  The  Knapps  and  George  Crowninshield  will  be 
again  on  the  community.  This  shows  the  importance  of  the 
duty  you  have  to  perform,  and  serves  to  remind  you  of  the  care 
and  wisdom  necessary  to  be  exercised  in  its  performance.  But 
certainly  these  considerations  do  not  render  the  prisoner's  guilt 
any  clearer,  nor  enhance  the  weight  of  the  evidence  against 
him.  Ko  one  desires  you  to  regard  consequences  in  that  light. 
jSTo  one  wishes  any  thing  to  be  strained,  or  too  far  jiressed 
against  the  prisoner.  fStill,  it  is  fit  you  should  see  the  full  im- 
portance of  the  duty  which  devolves  upon  3'ou. 

And  now,  Gentlemen,  in  examining  this  evidence,  let  us  be- 
gin at  the  beginning,  and  see  first  what  we  know  independent 
of  the  disputed  testimony.  This  is  a  case  of  circumstantial  evi- 
dence.' And  these  circumstances,  we  think,  are  full  and  satis- 
factory. The  case  mainly  dei3ends  upon  them,  and  it  is  com- 
mon that  offenses  of  this  kind  must  be  proved  in  this  way. 
Midnight  assassins  take  no  witnesses.     The  evidence   of  the 

1  Page  01. 


Webster's  speech.  293 

facts  relied  on  has  been  somewhat  sneeringly  denominated,  by 
the  learned  counsel,  "  circumstantial  stuff,"  but  it  is  not  such 
stuff  as  dreams  are  made  of.  Why  does  he  not  rend  this  stuff  ? 
Why  does  he  not  scatter  it  to  the  winds  ?  He  dismisses  it  a 
little  too  summarily.  It  shall  be  my  business  to  examine  this 
stuff,  and  tiy  its  cohesion. 

The  letter  from  Palmer  at  Belfast,  is  that  no  more  than  flimsy 
stuff? 

The  fabricated  letters  from  Knapp  to  the  committee  and  to 
Mr.  White,  are  they  nothing  but  stuff? 

The  circumstance,  that  the  house-keeper  was  away  at  the  time 
the  murder  was  committed,  as  it  was  agreed  she  would  be,  is 
that,  too,  a  useless  piece  of  the  same  stuff  ? 

The  facts,  that  the  key  of  the  chamber  door  was  taken  out 
and  secreted  ;  that  the  window  was  unbarred  and  unbolted  ; 
are  these  to  be  so  slightly  and  so  easily  disposed  of  ? 

It  is  necessary,  Gentleman,  to  settle  now,  at  the  commence- 
ment, the  great  question  of  a  conspiracy.  If  there  was  none, 
or  the  defendant  was  not  a  party,  then  there  is  no  evidence 
here  to  convict  him.  If  there  was  a  conspiracy,  and  he  is 
proved  to  have  been  a  party,  then  these  two  facts  have  a  strong 
bearing  on  others,  and  all  the  great  points  of  inquiry.  The  de- 
fendant's counsel  take  no  distinct  ground,  as  I  have  already 
said,  on  this  point,  either  to  admit  or  to  deny.  They  choose  to 
confine  themselves  to  a  hypothetical  mode  of  speech.  They 
say,  supposing  there  was  a  conspiracy,  non  sequitur '  that  the 
prisoner  is  guilty  as  principal.  Be  it  so.  But  still,  if  there 
was  a  conspiracy,  and  if  he  was  a  conspirator,  and  helped  to 
plan  the  murder,  this  may  shed  much  light  on  the  evidence 
which  goes  to  charge  him  with  the  execution  of  that  plan. 

We  mean  to  make  out  the  conspiracy  ;  and  that  the  defend- 
ant was  a  party  to  it ;  and  then  to  draw  all  just  inferences  from 
these  facts. 

Let  me  ask  your  attention,  then,  in  the  first  place,  to  those 
appearances,  on  the  morning  after  the  murder,  which  have  a 
tendency  to  show  that  it  was  done  in  pursuance  of  a  precon- 
certed plan  of  operation.     What  are  they  ?    A  man  was  found 

1  Page  91. 


294  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

murdered  in  his  bed.  No  stranger  had  done  the  deed,  no  one 
unacquainted  with  the  house  had  done  it.  It  was  apparent  that 
somebody  within  had  opened,  and  that  somebody  without  had 
entered.  There  had  obviously  and  certainly  been  concert  and 
co-operation.  The  inmates  of  the  house  were  not  alarmed 
when  the  murder  was  perpetrated.  The  assassin  had  entered 
without  any  riot  or  any  violence.  He  had  found  the  way  pre- 
pared before  him.  The  house  had  been  previously  opened. 
The  window  was  unbarred  from  within,  and  its  fastening  un- 
screwed. There  was  a  lock  on  the  door  of  the  chamber  in 
which  Mr.  White  slept,  but  the  key  was  gone.  It  had  been 
taken  away  and  secreted.  The  footstejDS  of  the  murderer  were 
visible,  out-doors,  tending  toward  the  window.  The  plank  by 
which  he  entered  the  window  still  remained.  The  road  he  pur- 
sued had  been  thus  prepared  for  him.  The  victim  was  slain, 
and  the  murderer  had  escaped.  Every  thing  indicated  that 
somebody  within  had  co-operated  with  somebody  without. 
Every  thing  proclaimed  that  some  of  the  inmates,  or  somebody 
having  access  to  the  house,  had  had  a  hand  in  the  murder. ^  On 
the  face  of  the  circumstances,  it  was  apparent,  therefore,  that 
this  was  a  premeditated,  concerted  murder  ;  that  there  had 
been  a  conspiracy  to  commit  it.  AVho,  then,  were  the  con- 
spirators ?  If  not  now  found  out,  we  are  still  groping  in  the 
dark,  and  the  whole  tragedy  is  still  a  mystery. 

If  the  Knaj^ps  and  the  Crowninshields  were  not  the  conspira- 
tors in  this  murder,  then  there  is  a  whole  set  of  conspirators 
not  yet  discovered.^  Because,  independent  of  the  testimony  of 
Palmer  and  Leighton,  independent  of  all  disputed  evidence, 
we  know,  from  uncontroverted  facts,  that  this  murder  was,  and 
must  have  been,  the  result  of  concert  and  co-operation  between 
two  or  more.  We  know  it  was  not  done  without  plan  and  de- 
liberation; we  see,  that  whoever  entered  the  house,  to  strike 
the  blow,  was  favored  and  aided  by  some  one  who  had  been 
previously  in  the  house,  without  suspicion,  and  who  had  pre- 
pared the  wa3\  This  is  concert,  this  is  co-operation,  this  is 
conspiracy.  If  the  Knapps  and  the  Crowninshields,  then, 
were  not  the  conspirators,  who  were  ?  Joseph  Knapp  had  a 
1  Pages  Gl,  173.  2  Page  81.  a  Page  124. 


WEBSTER'S    SPEECH.  295 

motive  to  desire  the  death  of  Mr.  White,  and  that  motive  has 
been  shown. 

He  was  connected  by  marriage  with  the  family  of  Mr.  White. 
His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Beckford,  who  was  the  only 
child  of  a  sister  of  the  deceased.  The  deceased  was  more  than 
eighty  years  old,  and  had  no  children.  His  only  heirs  were 
nephews  and  nieces.  He  was  sujoposed  to  be  possessed  of  a 
very  large  fortune,  which  would  have  descended,  by  law,  to 
his  several  nephews  and  nieces  in  equal  shares  ;  or,  if  there 
was  a  will,  then  according  to  the  will.  But  as  he  had  but  two 
branches  of  heirs,  the  children  of  his  brother,  Henry  AVhite, 
and  of  Mrs.  Beckford,  each  of  these  branches,  according  to  the 
common  idea,  would  have  shared  one  half  of  his  property. 

This  i3opular  idea  is  not  legally  correct.  But  it  is  common, 
and  very  probably  was  entertained  by  the  parties.  According 
to  this  idea,  Mrs.  Beckford,  on  Mr.  White's  death  without  a 
will,  would  have  been  entitled  to  one  half  of  his  ample  fortune  ; 
and  Joseph  Knapp  had  married  one  of  her  three  children.  There 
was  a  will,  and  this  will  gave  the  bulk  of  the  property  to  others  ; 
and  we  learn  from  Palmer  that  one  part  of  the  design  was  to 
destroy  the  will  before  the  murder  was  committed.  There  had 
been  a  previous  will,  and  that  previous  will  was  known  or  be- 
lieved to  have  been  more  favorable  than  the  other  to  the  Beck- 
ford family.  So  that,  by  destroying  the  last  will,  and  destroying 
the  life  of  the  testator  at  the  same  time,  either  the  first  and 
more  favorable  will  would  be  set  up,  or  the  deceased  would 
have  no  will,  which  would  be,  as  was  supposed,  still  more  fa- 
vorable. But  the  conspirators  not  having  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing and  destroying  the  last  will,  though  they  accomplished  the 
murder,  that  will  being  found  in  existence  and  safe,  and  that 
will  bequeathing  the  mass  of  the  property  to  others,  it  seemed 
at  the  time  impossible  for  Joseph  Knapp,  as  for  any  one  else, 
indeed,  but  the  principal  devisee,  to  have  any  motive  which 
should  lead  to  the  murder.  The  key  which  unlocks  the  whole 
mystery  is  the  knowledge  of  the  intention  of  the  conspirators 
to  steal  the  will.  This  is  derived  from  Palmer,  and  it  explains 
all.  It  solves  the  whole  marvel.  Tt  shows  the  motive  which 
actuated  those,  against  whom  there  is  much   evidence,  but 


296  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   AKGUMENTATION. 

who,  without  the  knowledge  of  this  intention,  were  not  seen 
to  have  had  a  motive.  This  intention  is  proved,  as  I  have 
said,  by  Palmer  ;  and  it  is  so  congruous  with  all  the  rest  of  the 
case,  it  agrees  so  well  with  all  facts  and  circumstances,  that  no 
man  could  well  withold  his  belief,  though  the  facts  were  stated 
by  a  still  less  credible  witness.^  If  one  desirous  of  opening  a 
lock  turns  over  and  tries  a  bunch  of  keys  till  he  finds  one  that 
will  open  it,  he  naturally  supposes  he  has  found  the  key  of  that 
lock. 2  So,  in  explaining  circumstances  of  evidence  which  are 
apparently  irreconcilable  or  unaccountable,  if  a  fact  be  sug- 
gested which  at  once  accounts  for  all,  and  reconciles  all,  by 
whomsoever  it  may  be  stated,  it  is  still  difficult  not  to  believe 
that  such  fact  is  the  true  fact  belonging  to  the  case.  In  this 
respect.  Palmer's  testimony  is  singularly  confirmed.  If  it  were 
false,  his  ingenuity  could  not  furnish  us  such  clear  exposition 
of  strange  appearing  circumstances.  Some  truth  not  before 
known  can  alone  do  that. 

When  we  look  back,  then,  to  the  state  of  things  immediately 
on  the  discovery  of  the  murder,  we  see  that  suspicion  would 
naturally  turn  at  once,  not  to  the  heirs  at  law,  but  to  those 
jDrincipally  benefited  by  the  will.^  They,  and  they  alone,  would 
be  supposed  or  seem  to  have  a  direct  object  for  wishing  Mr. 
White's  life  to  be  terminated.  And,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
we  find  counsel  now  insisting,  that,  if  no  apology,  it  is  yet 
mitigation  of  the  atrocity  of  the  Knapps'  conduct  in  attempt- 
ing to  charge  this  foul  murder  on  Mr.  White,  the  nephew  and 
principal  devisee,  that  public  suspicion  was  alreadj'  so  directed  I 
As  if  assassination  of  character  were  excusable  in  proportion 
as  circumstances  may  render  it  easy.  Their  endeavors,  when 
they  knew  they  were  suspected  themselves,  to  fix  the  charge 
on  others,  b}'  foul  means  and  by  falsehood,  are  fair  and  strong 
proof  of  their  own  guilt.     But  more  of  that  hereafter. 

The  counsel  say  that  they  might  safely  admit  that  Kichard 
Crowninshield,  Jr.  was  the  perpetrator  of  this  murder. 

But  how  could  they  safely  admit  that  ?  *  If  that  were  ad- 
mitted, everything  else  would  follow.  Por  why  should  Richard 
Crowninshield,  Jr.  kill  Mr.  White  ?  He  was  not  his  heir,  nor 
1  Page  54.  a  Page  158.  3  Page  124.  <  Page  206. 


Webster's  speech.  297 

his  devisee  ;  nor  was  lie  his  enemy.  What  could  be  his 
motive  ?  ^  If  Richard  Crowninshield,  Jr.  killed  Mr.  White,  he 
did  it  at  some  one's  procurement  who  himself  had  a  motive. 
And  who,  having  any  motive,  is  shown  to  have  had  any  inter- 
course with  Richard  Crowinshield,  Jr.,  but  Joseph  Knapp,  and 
this  principall}^  through  the  agency  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  ? 
It  is  the  infirmity,  the  distressing  difficulty  of  the  prisoner's 
case,  that  his  counsel  cannot  and  dare  not  admit  what  they 
yet  cannot  disprove,  and  what  all  must  believe.  He  who  be- 
lieves, on  this  evidence,  that  Richard  Crowninshield,  Jr.  was 
the  immediate  murderer,  cannot  doubt  that  both  the  Knapps 
were  conspirators  in  that  murder.  The  counsel,  therefore,  are 
wrong,  I  think,  in  saying  they  might  safely  admit  this.  The  ad- 
mission of  so  important  and  so  connected  a  fact  would  render  it 
impossible  to  contend  further  against  the  proof  of  the  entire 
conspiracy,  as  we  state  it. 

What,  then,  was  this  conspiracy?  J.  J.  Knapp,  Jr.,  desir- 
ous of  destroying  the  will,  and  of  taking  the  life  of  the  de- 
ceased, hired  a  ruflian,  who,  with  the  aid  of  other  rufiians, 
was  to  enter  the  house,  and  murder  him  in  his  bed. 

As  far  back  as  January  this  conspiracy  began.  Endicott 
testifies^  to  a  conversation  with  J.  J.  Knapp  at  that  time,  in 
which  Knai3p  told  him  that  Captain  White  had  made  a  will, 
and  given  the  principal  part  of  his  property  to  Stephen  White. 
When  asked  how  he  knew,  he  said,  "  Black  and  white  don't 
lie."  When  asked  if  the  will  was  not  locked  up,  he  said, 
"There  is  such  a  thing  as  two  keys  to  the  same  lock."  And 
speaking  of  the  then  late  illness  of  Captain  White,  he  said, 
that  Stephen  White  would  not  have  been  sent  for  if  he  had 
been  there. ^ 

Hence  it  appears,  that  as  early  as  January  Knapp  had  a 
knowledge  of  the  will,  and  that  he  had  access  to  it  by  means 
of  false  keys.  This  knowledge  of  the  will,  and  an  intent  to 
destroy  it,  appear  also  from  Palmer's  testimony,  a  fact  dis- 
closed to  him  by  the  other  conspirators.  He  says  that  he  was 
informed  of  this  ])y  the  Crowninshields  on  the  2d  of  April. 
]5ut  then  it  is  said,  that  Palmei-  is  not  to  be  credited  ;  that  by 
1  Page  138.  2  Pages  44,  (J2.  a  Page  55. 


298  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

his  own  confession  he  is  a  felon  ;  thai  lie  has  been  in  the  State 
prison  in  Maine  ;  and,  above  all,  that  he  was  intimately  as- 
sociated with  these  conspirators  themselves.  Let  us  admit 
these  facts.  Let  us  admit  him  to  be  as  bad  as  they  would  rep- 
resent him  to  be  ;  still,  in  law,  he  is  a  competent  witness.  How 
else  are  the  secret  designs  of  the  wicked  to  be  proved,  but  by 
their  wicked  companions,  to  whom  they  have  disclosed  them? 
The  government  does  not  select  its  witnesses.  The  conspira- 
tors themselves  have  chosen  Palmer.  He  was  the  confidant  of 
the  prisoners.  The  fact,  however,  does  not  depend  on  his  testi- 
mony alone.  It  is  corroborated  by  other  proof  ;  and,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  other  circumstances,  it  has  strong  proba- 
bility.' In  regard  to  the  testimony  of  Palmer,  generally,  it  ma}' 
be  said  that  it  is  less  contradicted,  in  all  parts  of  it,  either  by 
himself  or  others,  than  that  of  any  other  material  witness,  and 
that  everything  he  has  told  is  corroborated  by  other  evidence, 
so  far  as  it  is  susceptible  of  confirmation.  An  attemjDt  has 
been  made  to  impair  his  testimoii}^,  as  to  his  being  at  the  Half- 
way House  on  the  night  of  the  murder ;  you  have  seen  with 
what  success.  Mr.  Babb  is  called  to  contradict  him.^  You 
have  seen  how  little  he  knows,  and  even  that  not  certainly  ; 
for  he  himself  is  proved  to  have  been  in  an  error  by  sujDposing 
Palmer  to  have  been  at  the  Halfway  House  on  the  evening  of 
the  9th  of  April.  At  that  time  he  is  proved  to  have  been  at 
Dustin's  in  Danvers.  If,  then,  Palmer,  bad  as  he  is,  has  dis- 
closed the  secrets  of  the  conspiracy,  and  has  told  the  truth, 
there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  believed.  Ti-uth  is 
truth,  come  whence  it  may. 

The  facts  show  that  this  murder  had  been  long  in  agitation  ; 
that  it  was  not  a  new  jDroposition  on  the  2d  of  April  ;  that  it 
had  been  contemplated  for  five  or  six  weeks.  Richard  Crown- 
inshield  was  at  Wenliam  in  the  latter  part  of  March,  as  testified 
by  Starrett.  Prank  KnajDp  was  at  Danvers  in  the  latter  part  of 
Pebruaiy,  as  testified  by  Allen.  Richard  Crowninshield  in- 
quired whether  Captain  Knapp  was  about  home,  when  at 
Wenham.  The  probability  is,  that  they  would  open  the  case 
to  Palmer  as  a  new  project.  There  are  other  circumstances 
1  Page  54.  2  Page  67. 


Webster's  speech.  299 

that  show  it  to  have  been  some  weeks  in  agitation.  Palmer's 
testimony  as  to  the  transaction  on  the  2d  of  April  is  corrobor- 
ated by  Allen,  and  by  Osborn's  books.  He  says  that  Frank 
Knapp  came  there  in  the  afternoon,  and  again  in  the  evening. 
So  the  book  shows.  He  says  that  Captain  White  had  gone  out 
to  his  farm  on  that  day.  So  others  prove.  How  could  this 
fact,  or  these  facts,  have  been  known  to  Palmer,  unless  Frank 
Knapp  had  brought  the  knowledge  ?  And  was  it  not  the  spec-  • 
ial  object  of  this  visit  to  give  information  of  this  fact,  that  they 
might  meet  him  and  execute  their  purpose  on  his  return  from 
his  farm  ?  The  letter  of  Palmer,  written  at  Belfast,  bears  in- 
trinsic marks  of  genuineness.  It  was  mailed  at  Belfast,  May 
13th.  It  states  facts  that  he  could  not  have  known,  unless  his 
testimony  be  true.  This  letter  was  not  an  after-thought ;  it  is 
a  genuine  narrative.  In  fact,  it  says,  "  I  know  the  business 
your  brother  Frank  was  transacting  on  the  2d  of  April."  How 
could  he  have  possibly  known  this,  unless  he  had  been  there  T 
The  "one  thousand  dollars  that  was  to  be  paid,"  —  Avhere 
could  he  have  obtained  this  knowledge  ?  The  testimony  of 
Endicott,  of  Palmer,  and  these  facts,  are  to  be  taken  together  ; 
and  they  most  clearl}^  show  tliat  the  death  of  Captain  A\niite 
was  caused  by  somebod}^  interested  in  putting  an  end  to  his 
life.i 

As  to  the  testimon)^  of  Leighton,  as  far  as  manner  of  testify- 
ing goes,  he  is  a  bad  witness  ;  but  it  does  not  follow  from  this 
that  he  is  not  to  be  believed.  There  are  some  strange  things 
about  him.  It  is  strange,  that  he  should  make  up  a  story 
against  Captain  Knapp,  the  person  with  whom  he  lived  ;  that 
he  never  voluntarily  told  any  thing  :  all  that  he  has  said  was 
screwed  out  of  him.'  But  the  story  could  not  have  been  in- 
vented by  him  ;  his  character  for  truth  is  unimpeached  ;  and 
he  intimated  to  another  witness,  soon  after  the  murder  hap- 
pened, that  he  knew  something  he  should  not  tell.  There  is 
not  the  least  contradiction  in  his  testimon}',  though  he  gives  a 
poor  account  of  withholding  it.  He  says  that  he  was  extremely 
bothered  by  those  who  questioned  him.  In  the  main  story  that 
he  relates,  he  is  entirely  consistent  with  himself.  Some  things 
1  Page  183.  2  Page  53. 


300  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

are  for  him,  and  some  against  him.  Examine  the  intrinsic 
l^robability  of  what  he  says.'  See  if  some  allowance  is  not  to 
be  made  for  him,  on  account  of  his  ignorance  of  things  of  this 
kind.  It  is  said  to  be  extraordinary,  that  he  should  have  heard 
just  so  much  of  the  conversation,  and  no  more  ;  that  he  should 
have  heard  just  what  was  necessary  to  be  proved,  and  nothing 
else.  Admit  that  this  is  extraordinary  ;  still,  this  does  not 
prove  it  untrue.  It  is  extraordinary  that  you  twelve  gentle- 
men should  be  called  ujDon,  out  of  all  the  men  in  the  county, 
to  decide  this  case  ;  no  one  could  have  foretold  this  three 
weeks  since.  It  is  extraordinary  that  the  first  clew  to  this 
conspiracy  should  have  been  derived  from  information  given 
by  the  father  of  the  prisoner  at  bar.  And  in  every  case  that 
comes  to  trial  there  are  many  things  extraordinary.  The  mur- 
der itself  is  a  most  extraordinary  one  ;  but  still  we  do  not 
doubt  its  reality. 

It  is  argued,  that  this  conversation  between  Joseph*  and 
Frank  could  not  have  been  as  Leighton  has  testified,  because 
they  had  been  together  for  several  hours  before  ;  this  subject 
must  have  been  uppermost  in  their  minds,  whereas  this  aj)- 
pears  to  have  been  the  commencement  of  their  conversation 
upon  it.'  Xow  this  dej^ends  altogether  upon  the  tone  and 
manner  of  the  expression  ;  upon  the  jDarticular  word  in  the 
sentence  which  was  emphatically  spoken.  If  he  had  said, 
"AYhen  did  you  see  Dick,  Frank?"  this  would  not  seem  to 
be  the  beginning  of  the  conversation.  With  what  emphasis  it 
was  uttered,  it  is  not  possible  to  learn  ;  and  therefore  nothing 
can  be  made  of  this  argument.  If  this  boy's  testimony  stood 
alone,  it  should  be  received  with  caution.  And  the  same  may 
be  said  of  the  testimony  of  Palmer.  But  they  do  not  stand 
alone.  They  furnish  a  clew  to  numerous  other  circumstances, 
which,  when  known,  mutually  confirm  what  would  have  been 
received  with  caution  without  such  corroboration.  How  could 
Leighton  have  made  up  this  conversation?  "When  did  you 
see  Dick  ?  "  "I  saw  him  this  morning."  "  When  is  he  going 
to  kill  the  old  man?"  "I  don't  know."  "Tell  him,  if  he 
don't  do  it  soon,  I  won't  pay  him."  Here  is  a  vast  amount 
1  Page  70.  2  Page  207. 


Webster's  speech.  BOl 

in  few  words.  Had  he  wit  enough  to  invent  tliis  ?  There  is 
nothing  so  powerful  as  trutli  ;  and  often  nothing  so  strange. 
It  is  not  even  suggested  that  the  stor}^  was  made  for  him. 
There  is  nothing  so  extraordinary  in  the  whole  matter,  as  it 
would  have  been  for  this  ignorant  country  boy  to  invent  this 
story. 

The  acts  of  the  parties  themselves  furnish  strong  presump- 
tion of  their  guilt.'  AVhat  was  done  on  the  receipt  of  the  letter 
from  Maine  ?  This  letter  was  signed  by  Charles  Grant,  Jr.,  a 
person  not  known  to  either  of  the  Knapps,  nor  was  it  known 
to  them  that  an}'  other  person  beside  the  Crowninshields  knew 
of  the  conspiracy.  This  letter,  by  the  accidental  omission  of 
the  word  Jr.  ,2  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  father,  when  intended 
for  the  son.  The  father  carried  it  to  Wenham,  where  both  the 
sons  were.  They  both  read  it.  Fix  your  eye  steadily  on  this 
part  of  the  circumstantial  stuff  which,  is  in  the  case,  and  see 
what  can  be  made  of  it.  This  was  shown  to  the  two  brothers 
on  Saturday,  the  loth  of  May.  Neither  of  them  knew  Palmer. 
And  if  they  had  known  him,  they  could  not  have  known  him 
to  have  been  the  writer  of  this  letter.  It  was  mysterious  to 
them  how  any  one  at  Belfast  could  have  had  knowledge  of  this 
affair.  Their  conscious  guilt  prevented  due  circumspection. 
They  did  not  see  the  bearing  of  its  publication.  They  advised 
their  father  to  carr}^  it  to  the  Committee  of  Vigilance,  and  it 
was  so  carried.  On  the  Sunday  following,  Joseph  began  to 
think  there  might  be  something  in  it.  Perhaps,  in  the  mean 
time,  he  had  seen  one  of  the  Crowninshields.  He  was  appre- 
hensive that  they  might  be  suspected  ;  he  was  anxious  to  turn 
attention  from  their  family.  What  course  did  he  adopt  to  ef- 
fect this  ?  He  addressed  one  letter,  with  a  false  name,  to  Mr. 
White,  and  another  to  the  Committee  ;  and  to  complete  the 
climax  of  his  folly,  he  signed  the  letter  addressed  to  the  Com- 
mittee, "  Grant,"  the  same  name  as  that  which  was  signed 
to  the  letter  received  from  Belfast.  It  was  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  Committee,  that  no  person  but  the  Knapps  had  seen  this 
letter  from  Belfast ;  and  that  no  other  person  knew  its  signa- 
ture. It  therefore  must  have  been  irresistibly  plain  to  them 
1  Page  27.  ^  Page  179. 


302  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

that  one  of  the  Knapps  was  the  writer  of  the  letter  received 
by  the  Committee,  charging  the  murder  on  Mr.  White.  Add  to 
this  the  fact  of  its  having  been  dated  at  Lynn,  and  mailed  at 
Salem  four  daj-s  after  it  Avas  dated,  and  who  could  doubt  re- 
specting it?  Have  you  ever  known  or  read  of  folly  equal  to 
this?  Can  you  conceive  of  crime  more  odious  and  abomin- 
able ?  Merely  to  explain  the  apparent  mysteries  of  the  letter 
from  Palmer,  they  excite  the  basest  susi3icions  against  a  man, 
whom,  if  they  were  innocent,  they  had  no  reason  to  believe 
guilty  ;  and  whom,  if  they  were  guilty,  they  most  certainly  knew 
to  be  innocent.  Could  they  have  adopted  a  more  direct  method 
of  exposing  their  own  infamy  ?  The  letter  to  the  Committee  has 
intrinsic  marks  of  a  knowledge  of  this  transaction.  It  tells  the 
time  and  the  manner  in  which  the  murder  was  committed.  Every 
line  speaks  the  writer's  condemnation.  In  attempting  to  divert 
attention  from  his  family,  and  to  charge  the  guilt  upon  another, 
he  indelibly  fixes  it  upon  himself.^ 

JosejDh  Knapp  requested  Allen  to  put  these  letters  into  the 
post-office,  because,  said  he,  "I  wish  to  nip  this  silly  affair  in 
the  bud."  If  this  were  not  the  order  of  an  overruling 
Providence,  I  should  say  that  it  was  the  silliest  piece  of  folly 
that  was  ever  practised.  Mark  the  destiny  of  crime.  It  is 
ever  obliged  to  resort  to  such  subterfuges  ;  it  trembles  in  the 
broad  light ;  it  betrays  itself  in  seeking  concealment.  He 
alone  walks  safely  who  walks  uprightly.  Who  for  a  moment 
can  read  these  letters  and  doubt  of  Joseph  KnajDp's  guilt  ? 
The  constitution  of  nature  is  made  to  inform  against  him. 
There  is  no  corner  dark  enough  to  conceal  him.  There  is  no 
turnpike-road  broad  enough  or  smooth  enough  for  a  man  so 
guilty  to  walk  in  without  stumbling.  Every  step  proclaims  his 
secret  to  every  passenger.  His  own  acts  come  out  to  fix  his 
guilt.  In  attempting  to  charge  another  with  his  own  crime,  he 
writes  his  own  confession.  To  do  away  the  effect  of  Palmer's 
letter,  signed  Grant,  he  writes  a  letter  himself  and  affixes  to  it 
the  name  of  Grant.  He  writes  in  a  disguised  hand  ;  but  how 
could  it  happen  that  the  same  Grant  should  be  in  Salem  that 
was  at  Belfast  ?  This  has  brought  the  whole  thing  out.  Evi- 
1  Page  179. 


Webster's  speech.  303 

dently  lie  did  it,  because  he  has  adopted  the  same  style. 
Evidently  he  did  it,  because  he  speaks  of  the  price  of  blood, 
and  of  other  circumstances  connected  with  the  murder,  that  no 
one  but  a  conspirator  could  have  known. 

Palmer  says  he  made  a  visit  to  the  Crowninshields,  on  the 
9th  of  Aj)ril.  George  then  asked  him  whether  he  had  heard  of 
the  murder.  Richard  inquired  whether  he  had  heard  the  music 
at  Salem.  They  said  that  they  were  suspected,  that  a  com- 
mittee had  been  appointed  to  search  houses  ;  and  that  they  had 
melted  up  the  dagger,  the  day  after  the  murder,  because  it 
would  be  a  suspicious  circumstance  to  have  it  found  in  their 
possession.  Xow  this  committee  was  not  appointed,  in  fact, 
until  Friday  evening.  But  this  proves  notliing  against  Palmer  ; 
it  does  not  prove  that  George  did  not  tell  him  so  ;  it  onl}^  proves 
that  he  gave  a  false  reason  for  a  fact.  They  had  heard  that 
they  were  suspected  ;  how  could  they  have  heard  this,  unless 
it  were  from  the  whisperings  of  their  own  consciences  ?  Surely 
this  rumor  was  not  then  public. 

About  the  27th  of  April,  another  attempt  was  made  by  the 
Knapps  to  give  a  direction  to  public  suspicion.  They  reported 
themselves  to  have  been  robbed,  in  passing  from  Salem  to 
Wenham,  near  Wenham  Pond.  They  came  to  Salem  and 
stated  the  particulars  of  the  adventure.  They  described 
persons,  their  dress,  size,  and  appearance,  who  had  been  sus- 
pected of  the  murder.  They  would  have  it  understood  that  the 
community  was  infested  by  a  band  of  ruffians,  and  that  they 
themselves  were  the  particular  objects  of  their  vengeance. 
Xow  this  turns  out  to  be  all  fictitious,  all  false.  Can  you  con- 
ceive of  any  thing  more  enormous,  any  wickedness  greater, 
than  the  circulation  of  such  reports  ?  than  the  allegation  of 
crimes,  if  committed,  capital?  If  no  such  crime  had  been 
committed,  then  it  reacts  with  double  force  upon  themselves, 
and  goes  very  far  to  show  their  guilt.  IIow  did  they  conduct 
themselves  on  this  occasion  ?  Did  they  make  hue  and  cry  ? 
Did  they  give  information  that  they  had  been  assaulted  that 
night  at  Wenham  ?  Xo  such  thing.  They  rested  quietly  that 
night ;  they  waited  to  be  called  on  for  the  particulars  of  their 
adventure  ;  they  made   no  attempt   to  arrest   the   olfenders  ; 


304  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

this  was  not  their  object.  They  were  content  to  fill  the 
thousand  mouths  of  rumor,  to  spread  abroad  false  reports,  to 
divert  the  attention  of  the  public  from  themselves  ;  for  they 
thought  ever}^  man  suspected  them,  because  they  knew  they 
ought  to  be  suspected. 

The  manner  in  which  the  compensation  for  this  murder  was 
paid  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  consideration.  By  examining 
the  facts  and  dates,  it  will  satisfactorily  appear  that  Joseph 
Knapp  paid  a  sum  of  money  to  Eichard  Crowninshield,  in 
five-franc  pieces,  on  the  24th  of  April.  ^  On  the  21st  of  April, 
Joseph  Knapp  received  five  hundred  five-franc  pieces,  as  the 
proceeds  of  an  adventure  at  sea.  The  remainder  of  this 
species  of  currency  that  came  home  in  the  vessel  was  de- 
posited in  a  bank  at  Salem.  On  Saturday,  the  24th  of  April, 
Frank  and  Eichard  rode  to  AVenham.  They  were  there  with 
Joseph  an  hour  or  more,  and  appeared  to  be  negotiating  pri- 
vate business.  Eichard  continued  in  the  chaise  ;  Joseph  came 
to  the  chaise  and  conversed  with  him.  These  facts  are  proved 
by  Hart  and  Leighton,  and  by  Osborn's  books.  On  Saturday 
evening,  about  this  time,  Eichard  Crowninshield  is  proved,  by 
Lummus,  to  have  been  at  Wenham,  with  another  person  whose 
appearance  corresponds  with  Frank's.  Can  any  one  doubt  this 
being  the  same  evening  ?  'What  had  Eichard  Crowninshield  to 
do  at  Wenham,  with  Joseph,  unless  it  were  this  business  ?  He 
was  there  before  the  murder  ;  he  was  there  after  the  murder  ; 
he  was  there  clandestinely,  unwilling  to  be  seen.  If  it  were 
not  upon  this  business,  let  it  be  told  what  it  Avas  for.  Joseph 
Knapp  could  explain  it ;  Frank  Knapp  might  explain  it.  But 
they  do  not  explain  it ;  and  the  inference  is  against  them. 

Immediately  after  this,  Eichard  passes  five-franc  pieces  ;  on 
the  same  evening,  one  to  Lummus,  five  to  Palmer  ;  and  near 
this  time  George  passes  three  or  four  in  Salem.  Here  are  nine 
of  these  j)ieces  passed  by  them  in  four  days  ;  this  is  extraordi- 
nary. It  is  an  unusual  currency  ;  in  ordinary  business,  few 
men  would  pass  nine  such  pieces  in  the  course  of  a  year.  If 
they  were  not  received  in  this  way,  why  not  explain  how  they 
came  by  them  ?  Money  was  not  so  flush  in  their  pockets  that 
1  J.  J.  Knapp's  Confession. 


Webster's  speech.  305 

they  could  not  tell  whence  it  came,  if  it  honestly  came  there. 
It  is  extremely  important  to  them  to  explain  whence  this 
money  came,  and  they  would  do  it  if  they  could.  If,  then,  the 
price  of  blood  was  paid  at  this  time,  in  the  presence  and  with 
the  knowledge  of  this  defendant,  does  not  this  prove  him  to 
have  been  connected  with  this  conspiracy? 

Obser\^,  also,  the  effect  on  the  mind  of  Richard  of  Palmer's 
being  arrested  and  committed  to  prison  ;  the  various  efforts  he 
makes  to  discover  the  fact ;  the  lowering,  through  the  crevices 
of  the  rock,  the  pencil  and  paper  for  him  to  write  upon  ;  the 
sending  two  lines  of  poetry,  with  the  request  that  he  would  re- 
turn the  corresponding  lines  ;  the  shrill  and  peculiar  whistle  ; 
the  inimitable  exclamations  of  "  Palmer  !  Palmer  !  Palmer  !  " 
All  these  things  prove  how  great  was  his  alarm  ;  they  cor- 
roborate Palmer's  story,  and  tend  to  establish  the  conspirac}^ 

Joseph  Knapp  had  a  part  to  act  in  this  matter.  He  must 
have  opened  the  window,  and  secreted  the  key  ;  he  had  free 
access  to  ever}^  part  of  the  house  ;  he  was  accustomed  to  visit 
there  ;  he  went  in  and  out  at  his  pleasure  ;  he  could  do  this 
without  being  susjiected.  He  is  proved  to  have  been  there  the 
Saturdaj^  preceding. 

If  all  these  things,  taken  in  connection,  do  not  prove  that 
Captain  "\^^lite  was  murdered  in  pursuance  of  a  conspiracy, 
then  the  case  is  at  an  end. 

Savary's  testimony  is  wholly  unexpected.'  He  was  called 
for  a  different  purpose.  When  asked  who  the  person  was  that 
he  saw  come  out  of  Captain  White's  yard  between  three  and 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  answered.  Prank  Knapp.  It 
is  not  clear  that  this  is  not  true.  There  may  be  many  cir- 
cumstances of  importance  connected  with  this,  though  w^e 
believe  the  murder  to  have  been  committed  between  ten  and 
eleven  o'clock.  The  letter  to  Dr.  Barstow  states  it  to  have 
been  done  about  eleven  o'clock;  it  states  it  to  have  been  done 
with  a  blow  on  the  head,  from  a  weapon  loaded  with  lead. 
Here  is  too  great  a  correspondence  with  the  reality  not  to  have 
some  meaning  in  it.  Dr.  Pierson  was  always  of  the  opinion, 
that  the  two  classes  of  wounds  were  made  with  different  instru- 

1  Page  55. 


306  THE    ESSEIS^TIALS    OF    ARGUMEKTATION. 

ments,  and  by  different  hands.  It  is  possible  that  one  class 
was  inflicted  at  one  time,  and  the  other  at  another.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  on  the  last  visit  the  jDulse  might  not  have  entirely 
ceased  to  beat,  and  then  the  finishing  stroke  was  given.  It  is 
said,  that,  when  the  body  was  discovered,  some  of  the  wounds 
Avept,  while  the  others  did  not.^  They  may  have  been  inflicted 
from  mere  wantonness.  It  was  known  that  Captain  White 
was  accustomed  to  keep  specie  by  him  in  his  chamber;  this 
perhaps  may  explain  the  last  visit.  It  is  proved,  that  this 
defendant  was  in  the  habit  of  retiring  to  bed,  and  leaving  it 
afterwards,  without  the  knowledge  of  his  family;  perhaps  he 
did  so  on  this  occasion.  We  see  no  reason  to  doubt  the  fact; 
and  it  does  not  shake  our  belief  that  the  murder  was  committed 
early  in  the  night. 

^Aliat  are  the  probabilities  ^  as  to  the  time  of  the  murder  ? 
Mr.  White  was  an  aged  man;  he  usually  retired  to  bed  at  about 
half-past  nine.  He  slept  soundest  in  the  early  part  of  the 
night;  usually  awoke  in  the  middle  and  latter  part;  and  his 
habits  were  perfectly  well  known.  When  would  persons,  with 
a  knowledge  of  these  facts,  be  most  likely  to  approach  him  ? 
Most  certainly,  in  the  first  hour  of  his  sleep.  This  would' be 
the  safest  time.  If  seen  then  going  to  or  from  the  house,  the 
appearance  would  be  least  suspicious.  The  earlier  hour  would 
then  have  been  most  probably  selected. 

Gentlemen,  I  shall  dwell  no  longer  on  the  evidence  which 
tends  to  prove  that  there  was  a  conspiracy,  and  that  the  pris- 
oner was  a  conspirator.  All  the  circumstances  concur  to  make 
out  this  point.  Xot  only  Palmer  swears  to  it,  in  effect,  and 
Leighton,  but  Allen  mainly  supports  Palmer,  and  Osborn's 
books  lend  confirmation,  so  far  as  possible,  from  such  a  source. 
Palmer  is  contradicted  in  nothing,  either  by  any  other  witness, 
or  any  proved  circumstance  or  occurrence.  A^Hiatever  could 
be  expected  to  supjDort  him  does  support  him.  All  the  evi- 
dence clearly  manifests,  I  think,  that  there  was  a  consjDiracy; 
that  it  originated  with  Joseph  Knapp;  that  defendant  became 
a  party  to  it,  and  was  one  of  its  conductors,  from  first  to  last. 
One  of  the  most  powerful  circumstances  is  Palmer's  letter  from 
1  Page  5U.  2  Page  124. 


WEBSTEP.'S    SPEECH.  307 

Belfast,  The  amount  of  this  is  a  direct  charge  on  the  Knapps 
of  the  authorship  of  this  murder.  How  did  they  treat  this 
charge;  Hke  honest  men,  or  like  guilty  men?  We  have  seen 
how  it  was  treated.  Joseph  Knapp  fabricated  letters,  charging 
another  jDcrson,  and  caused  them  to  be  put  into  the  post-office.^ 

I  shall  now  proceed  on  the  supposition,  that  it  is  proved 
that  there  was  a  conspiracy  to  murder  Mr.  White,  and  that  the 
prisoner  was  party  to  it. 

The  second  and  the  material  inquiry  is.  Was  the  prisoner 
present  at  the  murder,  aiding  and  abetting  therein  ? 

This  leads  to  the  legal  question  in  the  case.  What  does  the 
law  mean,  when  it  says,  that,  in  order  to  charge  him  as  a 
principal,  "  he  must  be  j)resent  aiding  and  abetting  in  the 
murder"  ?2 

In  the  language  of  the  late  Chief  Justice,^  "It  is  not  re- 
quired that  the  abettor  shall  be  actually  upon  the  spot  when 
the  murder  is  committed,  or  even  in  sight  of  the  more  immedi- 
ate perj)etrator  or  of  the  victim,  to  make  him  a  principal.  If  he 
be  at  a  distance,  co-operating  in  the  act,  by  watching  to  pre- 
vent relief,  or  to  give  an  alarm,  or  to  assist  his  confederate  in 
escape,  having  knowledge  of  the  purpose  and  object  of  the 
assassin,  this  in  the  eye  of  the  law  is  being  present,  aiding  and 
abetting,  so  as  to  make  him  a  principal  in  the  murder," 

"  If  he  be  at  a  distance  co-operating."  This  is  not  a  dis- 
tance to  be  measured  by  feet  or  rods;  if  the  intent  to  lend  aid 
combine  with  a  knowledge  that  the  murder  is  to  be  committed, 
and  the  person  so  intending  be  so  situate  that  he  can  by  any 
possibility  lend  this  aid  in  any  manner,  then  he  is  present  in 
legal  contemplation.  He  need  not  lend  any  actual  aid;  to  be 
ready  to  assist  is  assisting. 

There  are  two  sorts  of  murder;  "*  the  distinction  between 
them  it  is  of  essential  importance  to  bear  in  mind  :  1.  Murder 
in  an  affray,  or  upon  sudden  and  unexpected  provocation. 
2.  Murder  secretly,  with  a  deliberate,  predetermined  intention 
to  commit  the  crime.  Under  the  first  class,  the  question 
usually  is,  whether  the  offense  be  murder  or  manslaughter,  in 
the  person  who  commits  the  deed.  Under  the  second  class,  it 
1  Pages  205,  25(3.  2  Page  29.  »  Page  51.  ^  Page  30. 


308  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AKGTJTNIENTATION. 

is  often  a  question  whether  others  than  he  who  actually  did 
the  deed  were  present,  aiding  and  assisting  therein.  Offences 
of  this  kind  ordinarily  happen  when  there  is  nobody  present 
except  those  who  go  on  the  same  design.  If  a  riot  should 
happen  in  the  court-house,  and  one  should  kill  another,  this 
may  be  murder,  or  it  may  not,  according  to  the  intention  with 
which  it  was  done;  which  is  always  matter  of  fact,  to  be 
collected  from  the  circumstances  at  the  time.  But  in  secret 
murders,  premeditated  and  determined  on,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  murderous  intention;  there  can  be  no  doubt,  if  a 
person  be  present,  knowing  a  murder  is  to  be  done,  of  his  con- 
curring in  the  act.  His  being  there  is  a  proof  of  his  intent  to 
aid  and  abet ;  else,  why  is  he  there  ? 

It  has  been  contended,^  that  jDroof  must  be  given  that  the 
person  accused  did  actually  afford  aid,  did  lend  a  hand  in  the 
murder  itself;  and  without  this  proof,  although  he  may  be  near 
by,  he  may  be  presumed  to  be  there  for  an  innocent  purpose  ; 
he  may  have  crept  silently  there  to  hear  the  news,  or  from  mere 
curiosity  to  see  what  was  going  on.^  Preposterous,  absurd  ! 
Such  an  idea  shocks  all  common  sense.  A  man  is  found  to  be 
a  conspirator  to  commit  a  murder  ;  he  has  planned  it ;  he  has 
assisted  in  arranging  the  time,  the  place,  and  the  means  ;  and 
he  is  found  in  the  place,  and  at  the  time,  and  yet  it  is  suggested 
that  he  might  have  been  there,  not  for  co-oi^eration  and  concur- 
rence, but  from  curiosity  !  Such  an  argument  deseiTes  no  an- 
swer. It  would  be  difficult  to  give  it  one,  in  decorous  terms. 
It  is  not  to  be  taken  for  granted,  that  a  man  seeks  to  accom- 
plish his  own  jDurposes  ?  When  he  has  planned  a  murder,  and 
is  present  at  its  execution,  is  he  there  to  forward  or  to  thwart 
his  own  design  ?  is  he  there  to  assist,  or  there  to  prevent  ? 
But  "  curiosity  "  !  He  may  be  there  from  mere  "  curiosity"  ! 
Curiosity  to  witness  the  success  of  the  execution  of  his  own 
plan  of  murder!  The  very  walls  of  a  court-house  ought  not  to 
stand,  the  ploughshare  should  run  through  the  ground  it  stands 
on,  where  such  an  argument  could  find  toleration.^ 

1  Page  206. 

2  This  seems  to  have  heen  actually  the  case  as  regards  J.  F.  Knapp, 

3  And  yet  this  argument,  so  absurd  in  Mr.  Webster's  opinion,  was  based 
on  the  exact  fact. 


309 

It  is  not  necessary  that  the  abettor  should  actually  lend  a 
hand,  that  he  should  take  a  part  in  the  act  itself;  if  he  he 
present  ready  to  assist,  that  is  assisting.  Some  of  the  doctrines 
advanced  would  acquit  the  defendant,  though  he  had  gone  to 
the  bedchamber  of  the  deceased,  though  he  had  been  standing 
by  when  the  assassin  gave  the  blow.  This  is  the  argument  we 
have  heard  to-day.' 

1^0  doubt  the  law  is,  that  being  ready  to  assist  is  assisting,  if 
the  party  has  the  power  to  assist,  in  case  of  need.  It  is  so 
stated  by  Foster ,2  who  is  a  high  authority.  "  If  A  happeneth  to 
be  present  at  a  murder,  for  instance,  and  taketh  no  part  in  it, 
nor  endeavoreth  to  prevent  it,  nor  apprehendeth  the  murderer, 
nor  levyeth*  hue  and  ciy  after  him,  this  strange  behavior  of  his, 
though  highly  criminal,  will  not  of  itself  render  him  either 
principal  or  accessor}^"  "  But  if  a  fact  amounting  to  murder 
should  be  committed  in  prosecution  of  some  unlawful  purpose, 
though  it  were  but  a  bare  trespass,  to  which  A  in  the  case  last 
stated  had  consented,  and  he  had  gone  in  order  to  give  assis- 
tance, if  need  were,  for  carrying  it  into  execution,  this  would 
have  amounted  to  murder  in  him,  and  in  every  person  present 
and  joining  with  him."  "  If  the  fact  was  committed  in  prose- 
cution of  the  original  purpose  which  was  unlawful,  the  whole 
party  will  be  involved  in  the  guilt  of  him  who  gave  the  blow. 
For  in  combinations  of  this  kind,  the  mortal  stroke,  though 
given  by  one  of  the  party,  is  considered  in  the  eye  of  the  law, 
and  of  sound  reason  too,  as  given  by  every  individual  present 
and  abetting.  The  person  actually  giving  the  stroke  is  no 
more  than  the  hand  or  instrument  by  which  the  others  strike.  " 
The  author,  in  speaking  of  being  present,  means  actual  pres- 
ence ;  not  actual  in  opposition  to  constructive,  for  the  law 
knows  no  such  distinction.  There  is  but  one  presence,  and 
this  is  the  situation  from  which  aid,  or  supposed  aid,  may  be 
rendered.  The  law  does  not  say  where  the  person  is  to  go,  or 
how  near  he  is  to  go,  but  that  he  must  be  where  he  may  give 
assistance,  or  where  the  perpetrator  may  believe  that  he  may  be 

1  The  court  here  said,  tl»ey  did  not  so  understand  the  argument  of  the 
counsel  for  defendant.  Mr.  Dexter  said,  "  The  intent  and  power  alone 
must  co-operate." 

2  Page  51. 


310  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATION. 

assisted  by  him.  Suppose  that  he  is  acquainted  with  the  design 
of  the  murderer,  and  has  a  knowledge  of  the  time  when  it  is  to 
be  carried  into  effect,  and  goes  out  with  a  view  to  render  as- 
sistance, if  need  be  ;  why,  then,  even  though  the  murderer 
does  not  know  of  this,  the  person  so  going  out  will  be  an  abet- 
tor in  the  murder.' 

It  is  contended  that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  could  not  be  a 
principal,  he  being  in  Brown  Street,  because  he  could  not 
there  render  assistance  ;  and  3'ou  are  called  upon  to  determine 
this  case,  according  as  3'ou  may  be  of  opinion  whether  Brown 
Street  was,  or  was  not,  a  suitable,  convenient,  well-chosen 
place  to  aid  in  this  murder.^  This  is  not  the  true  question. 
The  inquiry  is  not  whether  3'ou  Avould  have  selected  this  place 
in  preference  to  all  others,  or  whether  you  would  have  selected 
it  at  all.  If  the  parties  chose  it,  why  should  we  doubt  about 
it?  How  do  we  know  the  use  they  intended  to  make  of  it, 
or  the  kind  of  aid  that  he  was  to  afford  b}^  being  there  ?  The 
question  for  you  to  consider  is.  Did  the  defendant  go  into 
Brown  Street  in  aid  of  this  murder?  Did  he  go  there  by 
agreement,  by  appointment  with  the  i3eri3etrator  ?  ^  If  so, 
everything  else  follows.  The  main  thing,  indeed  the  only 
thing,  is  to  inquire  whether  he  was  in  Brown  Street  by  appoint- 
ment with  Richard  Crowninshield.  It  might  be  to  keep  gen- 
eral watch  ;  to  observe  the  lights,  and  advise  as  to  time  of 
access  ;  to  meet  the  murderer  on  his  return,  to  advise  him 
as  to  his  escape  ;  to  examine  his  clothes,  to  see  if  an}-  marks 
of  blood  were  upon  them  ;  to  furnish  exchange  of  clothes,  or 
new  disguise,  if  necessary  ;  to  tell  him  through  what  streets  he 
could  safely  retreat,  or  whether  he  could  deposit  the  club  in 
the  place  designed  ;  or  it  might  be  without  any  distinct  object, 
but  merely  to  afford  that  encouragement  which  would  proceed 
from  Eichard  Crowninshield's  consciousness  that  he  was  near. 
It  is  of  no  consequence  whether,  in  jour  opinion,  the  jDlace 
was  well  chosen  or  not,  to  afford  aid  ;  if  it  was  so  chosen,  if  it 
was  by  appointment  that  he  was  there,  it  is  enough.  Suppose 
Richard  Crowninshield,  when  applied  to  to  commit  the  murder, 
had  said,  "  I  won't  do  it  unless  there  can  be  some  one  near  by  to 
1  Page  150.  2  Pages  101,  20G.  3  He  did  not. 


Webster's  speech.  311 

favor  my  escape  ;  I  won't  go  unless  you  will  stay  in  Brown 
Street."  Upon  the  gentleman's  argument,  he  would  not  be  an 
aider  and  abettor  in  the  murder,  because  the  place  was  not 
well  chosen  ;  though  it  is  apparent  that  the  being  in  the  place 
chosen  was  a  condition,  without  which  the  murder  would  never 
have  happened. 

You  are  to  consider  the  defendant  as  one  in  the  league,  in 
the  combination  to  commit  the  murder.  If  he  was  there  by 
appointment  with  the  perpetrator,  he  is  an  abettor. ^  The  con- 
currence of  the  jDcrpetrator  in  his  being  there  is  proved  bj^  the 
previous  evidence  of  the  consi3irac3\  If  Richard  Crowninshield, 
for  any  purpose  whatsoever,  made  it  a  condition  of  the  agree- 
ment, that  Frank  Knapp  should  stand  as  backer,  then  Frank 
Knapp  was  an  aider  and  abettor  ;  no  matter  what  the  aid  was, 
or  what  sort  it  was,  or  degree,  be  it  ever  so  little  ;  even  if  it 
were  to  judge  of  the  hour  when  it  was  best  to  go,  or  to  see  when 
the  lights  were  extinguished,  or  to  give  an  alarm  if  any  one 
approached.  Wlio  better  calculated  to  judge  of  these  things 
than  the  murderer  himself?  and  if  he  so  determined  them, 
that  is  sufficient. 

Now  as  to  the  facts. ^  Frank  Knapp  knew  that  the  murder 
was  that  night  to  be  committed  ;  he  was  one  of  the  conspira- 
tors, he  knew  the  object,  he  knew  the  time.  He  had  that  day 
been  to  Wenham  to  see  Joseph,  and  probably  to  Danvers  to 
see  Eichard  Crowninshield,  for  he  kept  his  motions  secret. 
He  had  that  da}'  hired  a  horse  and  chaise  of  Osborn,  and  at- 
tempted to  conceal  the  jiurpose  for  which  it  was  used  ;  he  had 
intentionally  left  the  jilace  and  the  p7'ice  blank  on  Osborn's 
books.  He  went  to  Wenham  by  the  wa}'  of  Danvers  ;  he  had 
been  told  the  week  before  to  hasten  Dick  ;  he  had  seen  the 
Crowninshields  several  times  within  a  few  days  ;  he  had  a 
saddle-horse  the  Saturday  night  before  ;  he  had  seen  Mrs. 
Beckford  at  Wenham,  and  knew  she  would  not  return  that 
night.  She  had  not  been  away  before  for  six  weeks,  and  prob- 
ably would  not  soon  be  again.  He  had  just  come  from  "Wen- 
ham.  Eveiy  day,  for  the  week  previous,  he  had  visited  one 
or  another  of  these  conspirators,  save  Sunday,  and  then  prob- 
1  Page  91.  2  Page  205. 


312  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

ably  he  saw  them  in  town.  When  he  saw  Joseph  on  the  6th, 
Joseph  had  prej^ared  the  house,  and  would  naturally  tell  him 
of  it ;  there  were  constant  communications  between  them  ; 
daily  and  nightly  visitation  ;  too  much  knowledge  of  these 
parties  and  this  transaction,  to  leave  a  particle  of  doubt  on 
the  mind  of  any  one,  that  Frank  Knapp  knew  the  murder  was 
to  be  committed  this  night.  The  hour  was  come,  and  he  knew 
it ;  if  so,  and  he  was  in  Brown  Street,  without  explaining  why 
he  was  there,  can  the  jury  for  a  moment  doubt  whether  he  was 
there  to  countenance,  aid,  or  support ;  or  for  curiosity  alone  ; 
or  to  learn  how  the  wages  of  sin  and  death  were  earned  by  the 
perpetrator  ? ' 

The  perpetrator  would  derive  courage,  and  strength,  and 
confidence,  from  the  knowledge  that  one  of  his  associates  was 
near  by.  If  he  was  in  Brown  Street,  he  could  have  been  there 
for  no  other  purpose.  If  there  for  this  purpose,  then  he  was, 
in  the  language  of  the  law,  present,  aiding  and  abetting  in  the 
murder. 

His  interest  lay  in  being  somewhere  else.*^  If  he  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  murder,  no  part  to  act,  why  not  stay  at  home  ? 
Why  should  he  jeopard  his  own  life,  if  it  was  not  agreed  that 
he  should  be  there  ?  He  would  not  voluntarily  go  where  the 
very  place  would  cause  him  to  swing  if  detected.  He  would 
not  voluntarily  assume  the  place  of  danger.  His  taking  this 
place  proves  that  he  went  to  give  aid.  His  staying  away  w^ould 
have  made  an  alibi.  If  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  murder, 
he  would  be  at  home,  where  he  could  prove  his  alihi.  He  knew 
he  was  in  danger,  because  he  was  guilty  of  the  conspiracy,  and, 
if  he  had  nothing  to  do,  would  not  expose  himself  to  suspicion 
or  detection. 

Did  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  countenance  this  murder  ?  Did  he 
concur,  or  did  he  non-concur,  in  what  the  perpetrator  was 
about  to  do  ?  Would  he  have  tried  to  shield  him  ?  Would  he 
have  furnished  his  cloak  for  protection?  Would  he  have 
pointed  out  a  safe  way  of  retreat?     As  you  would  answer 

1  Here  Mr.  Webster  read  the  law  from  Hawkins.     1  Hawk.  204,  Lib. 
1,  ch.  32,  sec.  7.     See  page  51. 
^  Page  124. 


WEBSTEr.'s    SPEECH.  313 

these  questions,  so  you  should  answer  the  general  question, 
whether  he  was  there  consenting  to  the  murder,  or  whether  he 
was  there  as  a  spectator  only. 

One  word  more  on  this  presence,  called  constructive  presence. i 
What  aid  is  to  be  rendered  ?  Where  is  the  line  to  be  drawn,  be- 
tween acting,  and  omitting  to  act  ?  Suppose  he  had  been  in 
the  house,  supj)ose  he  had  followed  the  perpetrator  to  the  cham- 
ber, what  could  he  have  done  ?  This  was  to  be  a  murder  by 
stealth  ;  it  was  to  be  a  secret  assassination.  It  was  not  their 
purpose  to  have  an  open  combat ;  they  were  to  approach  their 
victim  unawares,  and  silently  give  the  fatal  blow.  But  if  he 
had  been  in  the  chamber,  no  one  can  doubt  that  he  would  have 
been  an  abettor  ;  because  of  his  presence,  and  ability  to  render 
services,  if  needed.  What  service  could  he  have  rendered,  if 
there  ?  Could  he  have  helped  him  to  fly  ?  Could  he  have 
aided  the  silence  of  his  movements  ?  Could  he  have  facilitated 
his  retreat,  on  the  first  alarm  ?  Surely,  this  was  a  case  where 
there  was  more  of  safety  in  going  alone  than  with  another  ; 
where  company  would  only  embarrass.  Eichard  Crowninshield 
would  prefer  to  go  alone.  He  knew  his  errand  too  well.  His 
nerves  needed  no  collateral  support.  He  was  not  the  man  to 
take  with  him  a  trembling  companion.  He  would  prefer  to 
have  his  aid  at  a  distance.  He  would  not  wish  to  be  encum- 
bered by  his  presence.  He  would  prefer  to  have  him  out  of  the 
house.  He  would  prefer  that  he  should  be  in  Brown  Street. 
But  whether  in  the  chamber,  in  the  house,  in  the  garden,  or  in 
the  street,  whatsoever  is  aiding  in  actual  presence  is  aiding  in 
constructive  presence ;  any  thing  that  is  aid  in  one  case  is  aid  in 
the  other. ** 

If,  then,  the  aid  Ije  anywhere,  so  as  to  embolden  the  perpe- 
trator, to  afford  him  hope  or  confidence  in  his  enterprise,  it  is 
the  same  as  though  the  person  stood  at  his  elbow  with  his  sword 
drawn.  His  being  there  ready  to  act,  with  the  power  to  act,  is 
what  makes  him  an  abettor.^ 

1  Page  29.  2  4  Hawk.  201,  Lib.  4,  ch.  29,  sec.  8,  page  52. 

3  Here  Mr.  Webster  referred  to  the  cases  of  Kelly,  of  Hyde,  and  otbers, 
cited  by  counsel  for  the  defendant,  and  showed  that  they  did  not  militate 
with  the  doctrine  for  which  ho  contended.  The  difference  is,  in  those 
cases  there  was  open  violence ;  this  was  a  case  of  secret  assassination. 


314  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

AVhat  are  the  facts  in  relation  to  tliis  presence  ?  Frank 
Knapp  is  proved  to  have  been  a  conspirator,  proved  to  have 
known  that  the  deed  was  now  to  be  done.  Is  it  not  probable 
that  he  was  in  Brown  Street  to  concur  in  the  murder  ?  ^  There 
were  four  consiDirators.  It  was  natural  that  some  one  of  them 
should  go  with  the  perpetrator.  Richard  Crowninshield  was  to 
be  the  perpetrator  ;  he  was  to  give  the  blow.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence of  any  casting  of  the  parts  for  the  others.  The  defend- 
ant would  probably  be  the  man  to  take  the  second  part.  He 
Avas  fond  of  exploits,  he  was  accustomed  to  the  use  of  sword- 
canes  and  dirks.  If  any  aid  was  required,  he  was  the  man  to 
give  it.  At  least,  there  is  no  evidence  to  the  contraiy  of  this. 
Aid  could  not  have  been  received  from  Joseph  Knapp,  or  from 
George  Crowninshield. ^  Joseph  Knapp  was  at  AVenham,  and 
took  good  care  to  prove  that  he  was  there.  George  Crownin- 
shield has  proved  satisfactorily  where  he  was  ;  that  he  was  in 
other  company,  such  as  it  w^as,  until  eleven  o'clock.  This 
narrows  the  inquir}-.  This  demands  of  the  prisoner  to  show,  if 
he  was  not  in  this  place,  where  he  ^vas.^  It  calls  on  him  loudly 
to  show  this,  and  to  show  it  truly.  If  he  could  show  it,  he 
would  do  it.  If  he  does  not  tell,  and  that  truly,  it  is  against 
him.  The  defence  of  an  aUhi  is  a  double-edged  sword.  He 
knew  that  he  was  in  a  situation  where  he  might  be  called  upon 
to  account  for  himself.  If  he  had  had  no  joarticular  appoint- 
ment or  business  to  attend  to,  he  would  have  taken  care  to  be 
able  so  to  account.  He  would  have  been  out  of  town,  or  in 
some  good  company.  Has  he  accounted  for  himself  on  that 
night  to  your  satisfaction  ? 

The  jDrisoner  has  attempted  to  prove  an  alihi  in  two  ways. 
In  the  first  place,  by  four  young  men  with  whom  he  says  he 
was  in  company,  on  the  evening  of  the  murder,  from  seven 
o'clock  till  near  ten  o'clock.  This  depends  upon  the  certainty 
of  the  night.  In  the  second  place,  by  his  family,  from  ten 
o'clock  afterwards.  This  depends  upon  the  certainty  of  the 
time  of  the  night.     These  two  classes  of  proof  have  no  con- 

The  aid  must  meet  the  occasion.      Here  no  acting  was  necessary,  but 
watching,  concealment  of  escape,  management.     See  page  155. 
1  Page  124.  -  Page  82.  3  Page  39. 


Webster's  speech.  315 

nection  with  each  other.  One  may  be  true,  and  the  other  false  ; 
or  they  may  both  be  true,  or  both  be  false.  I  shall  examine 
this  testimony  with  some  attention,  because,  on  a  former  trial, 
it  made  more  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  court  than  on  my 
own  mind.  I  think,  when  carefully  sifted  and  compared,  it  will 
be  found  to  have  in  it  more  of  plausibility  than  reality. 

Mr.  Page  testifies,  that  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  April  he 
was  in  company  with  Burchmore,  Balch,  and  Forrester,  and 
that  he  met  the  defendant  about  seven  o'clock,  near  the  Salem 
Hotel  ;  that  he  afterwards  met  him  at  Eemonds,  about  nine 
o'clock,  and  that  he  was  in  company  with  him  a  considerable 
part  of  the  evening.  This  young  gentleman  is  a  member  of 
college,  and  says  that  he  came  to  town  the  Saturday  evening 
previous  ;  that  he  is  now  able  to  say  that  it  was  the  night  of 
the  murder  when  he  walked  with  Frank  Knapp,  from  the  recol- 
lection of  the  fact,  that  he  called  himself  to  an  account,  on  the 
morning  after  the  murder,  as  it  is  natural  for  men  to  do  when 
an  extraordinary  occurrence  happens.  Gentlemen,  this  kind  of 
evidence  is  not  satisfactory  ; '  general  impressions  as  to  time  are 
not  to  be  relied  on.  If  I  were  called  on  to  state  the  particular 
day  on  which  any  witness  testified  in  this  cause,  I  could  not  do 
it.  Every  man  will  notice  the  same  thing  in  his  own  mind. 
There  is  no  one  of  these  young  men  that  could  give  an  account 
of  himself  for  any  other  day  in  the  month  of  April.  They  are 
made  to  remember  the  fact,  and  then  they  think  they  remem- 
ber the  time.  The  witness  has  no  means  of  knowing  it  was 
Tuesday  rather  than  any  other  time.  He  did  not  know  it  at 
first ;  he  could  not  know  it  afterwards.  He  says  he  called  him- 
self to  an  account.  This  has  no  more  to  do  with  the  murder  than 
with  the  man  in  the  moon.  Such  testimony  is  not  worthy  to  be 
relied  on  in  any  forty-shilling  cause.  What  occasion  had  he  to 
call  himself  to  an  account?  Did  he  suppose  that  he  should 
be  suspected  ?    Had  he  any  intimation  of  this  conspiracy  ? 

Suppose,  Gentlemen,  you  were  either  of  you  asked  where 
you  were,  or  what  you  were  doing,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  June  ; 
you  could  not  answer  this  question  without  calling  to  mind  some 
events  to  make  it  certain.     Just  as  well  may  you  remember  on 

1  Page  47. 


316  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

what  you  dined  each  da}^  of  the  .year  past.  Time  is  identi- 
cal. Its  subdivisions  are  all  alike.  No  man  knows  one  day 
from  another,  or  one  hour  from  another,  but  by  some  fact  con- 
nected with  it.  Days  and  hours  are  not  visible  to  the  senses, 
nor  to  be  apprehended  and  distinguished  by  the  understanding. 
The  flow  of  time  is  known  onl}'  by  something  which  marks  it ; 
and  he  who  speaks  of  the  date  of  occurrences  with  nothing  to 
guide  his  recollection  speaks  at  random,  and  is  not  to  be  relied 
on.  This  young  gentleman  remembers  the  facts  and  occur- 
rences ;  he  knows  nothing  why  they  should  not  have  happened 
on  the  evening  of  the  6th  ;  but  he  knows  no  more.  All  the 
rest  is  evidently  conjecture  or  impression. 

Mr.  White  informs  you,  that  he  told  him  he  could  not  tell 
what  night  it  was.  The  first  thoughts  are  all  that  are  valuable 
in  such  case.     They  miss  the  mark  by  taking  second  aim. 

Mr.  Balch  believes,  but  is  not  sure,  that  he  w^as  with  Frank 
Knapp  on  the  evening  of  the  murder.  He  has  given  different 
accounts  of  the  time.  He  has  no  means  of  making  it  certain. 
All  he  knows  is,  that  it  was  some  evening  before  Fast-day.  But 
whether  Monday,  Tuesday,  or  Saturday,  he  cannot  tell.' 

Mr.  Burchmore  says,  to  the  best  of  his  belief,  it  was  the 
evening  of  the  murder.  Afterwards  he  attempts  to  speak 
positively,  from  recollecting  that  he  mentioned  the  circum- 
stance to  William  Peirce,  as  he  went  to  the  Mineral  Spring  on 
Fast-day.  Last  Monday  morning  he  told  Colonel  Putnam 
he  could  not  fix  the  time.  This  witness  stands  in  a  much 
worse  plight  than  either  of  the  others.  It  is  difficult  to  recon- 
cile all  he  has  said  with  any  belief  in  the  accuracy  of  his  recol- 
lections. 

Mr.  Forrester  does  not  speak  with  any  certainty  as  to  the 
night ;  and  it  is  very  certain  that  he  told  Mr.  Loring  and 
others,  that  he  did  not  know  what  night  it  was. 

2^ow,  what  does  the  testimony  of  these  four  young  men 
amount  to?  The  only  circumstance  by  which  they  approxi- 
mate to  an  identifying  of  the  night  is,  that  three  of  them  say 
it  was  cloudy  ;  they  think  their  walk  was  either  on  Monday  or 
Tuesday  evening,  and  it  is  admitted  that  Monday  evening  was 
1  See  qualities  of  witnesses,  pages  44-47. 


Webster's  speech.  317 

clear,  Avhence  they  draw  the  inference  that  it  must  have  been 
Tuesday. 

But,  fortunately,  there  is  one  fact  disclosed  in  their  testi- 
mony that  settles  the  question.'  Balch  says,  that  on  the  even- 
ing, whenever  it  was,  he  saw  the  prisoner  ;  the  prisoner  told 
him  he  was  going  out  of  town  on  horseback,  for  a  distance  of 
about  twenty  minutes'  drive,  and  that  he  was  going  to  get  a 
horse  at  Osborns.  This  was  about  seven  o'clock.  At  about 
nine,  Balch  says  he  saw  the  prisoner  again,  and  was  then  told 
by  him  that  he  had  had  his  ride,  and  had  returned.  Xow  it 
appears  by  Osborn's  books,  that  the  i:)risoner  had  a  saddle-horse 
from  his  stable,  not  on  Tuesday  evening,  the  night  of  the 
murder,  but  on  the  Saturday  evening  previous.  This  fixes  the 
time  about  which  these  young  men  testify,  and  is  a  complete 
answer  and  refutation  of  the  attempted  alibi  on  Tuesday  even- 
ing.^ 

I  come  now  to  speak  of  the  testimony  adduced  by  the  de- 
fendant to  explain  where  he  was  after  ten  o'clock  on  the  night 
of  the  murder.  This  comes  chiefly  from  members  of  the  family; 
from  his  father  and  brothers. 

It  is  agreed  that  the  affidavit  of  the  prisoner  should  be  re- 
ceived as  evidence  of  what  his  brother,  Samuel  H.  Knapp, 
would  testify  if  present.  Samuel  H.  Knapp  says,  that,  about 
ten  minutes  past  ten  o'clock,  his  brother,  Frank  Knapp,  on  his 
way  to  bed,  opened  his  chamber  door,  made  some  remarks, 
closed  the  door,  and  went  to  his  chamber  ;  and  that  he  did  not 
hear  him  leave  it  afterwards.  How  is  this  witness  able  to  fix 
the  time  at  ten  minutes  past  ten  ?  There  is  no  circumstance 
mentioned  by  which  he  fixes  it.  He  had  been  in  bed,  probably 
asleep,  and  was  aroused  from  his  sleep  by  the  opening  of  the 
door.  Was  he  in  a  situation  to  speak  of  time  with  precision  ? 
Could  he  know,  under  such  circumstances,  whether  it  was  ten 
minutes  past  ten,  or  ten  minutes  before  eleven,  when  his 
brother  spoke  to  him  ?  What  would  be  the  natural  result  in 
such  a  case?  But  we  are  not  left  to  conjecture  this  result. 
\Ye  have  positive  testimony  on  this  point.     Mr.  Webb  tells 

u  that  Samuel  told  him,  on  the  8th  of  June,  "  that  he  did 
1  Pages  59,  178.  2  Page  206. 


318  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    APvGU^NIENTATION. 

not  know  what  time  his  brother  Frank  came  home,  and  that  he 
was  not  at  home  when  he  went  to  bed.  "  You  will  consider  this 
testimony  of  Mr.  Webb  as  indorsed  upon  this  affidavit ;  and 
with  this  indorsement  upon  it,  you  will  give  it  its  due  weight. 
This  statement  was  made  to  him  after  Frank  was  arrested.' 

I  come  to  the  testimony  of  the  father. '^  I  find  myself  incap- 
able of  speaking  of  him  or  his  testimony  with  severity. '  Un- 
fortunate old  man  !  Another  Lear,  in  the  conduct  of  his  chil- 
dren ;  another  Lear,  I  apprehend,  in  the  effect  of  his  distress 
upon  his  mind  and  understanding.  He  is  brought  here  to 
testify,  under  circumstances'  that  disarm  severity,  and  call 
loudly  for  sympathy.  Though  it  is  impossible  not  to  see  that 
his  story  cannot  be  credited,  yet  I  am  unable  to  speak  of  him 
otherwise  than  in  sorrow  and  grief.  Unhappy  father  !  he 
strives  to  remember,  perhaj^s  persuades  himself  that  he  does 
remember,  that  on  the  evening  of  the  murder  he  was  himself 
at  home  at  ten  o'clock.  He  thinks,  or  seems  to  think,  that  his 
son  came  in  at  about  five  minutes  past  ten.  He  fancies  that  he 
remembers  his  conversation  ;  he  thinks  he  sjDoke  of  bolting  the 
door  ;  he  thinks  he  asked  the  time  of  night  ;  he  seems  to  re- 
member his  then  going  to  his  bed.  Alas  !  these  are  but  the 
swimming  fancies  of  an  agitated  and  distressed  mind.  Alas  ! 
they  are  but  the  dreams  of  hope,  its  uncertain  lights,  flickering 
on  the  thick  darkness  of  parental  distress.  Alas  !  the  miser- 
able father  knows  nothing,  in  reality,  of  all  these  things. 

Mr.  Shepard  says  that  the  first  conversation  he  had  with  Mr. 
Knapp  was  soon  after  the  murder,  and  hefore  the  arrest  of  his 
^^>,^      ^-     --  the  arrest  of  his  sons. ^   His 

epard,  that  his  "  son  Frank 

Phippen  told  him,  "  or  "  as 

.rd  says  that  he  was  struck  with 

u  it  made  an  unfavorable  impres- 

oes  not  tell  you  what  that  impression 

.  anect  it  with  the  previous  inquiry  he  had 

,,   MxjLciner    Frank  had    continued    to  associate  with  the 

Crowninshields,  and  recollect  that  the   Crowninshields  werf 

then  known  to  be  suspected  of  this  crime,  can  you  doubt  wh'° 

1  Pages  67,  182.  ^  Pages  48,  218.  3  Page  67. 


Webster's  speech.  319 

this  impression  was  ?  can  you  doubt  as  to  the  fears  he  then  had. 

This  poor  old  man  tells  you,  that  he  was  greatly  perplexed 
at  the  time  ;  that  he  found  himself  in  embarrassed  circum- 
stances ;  that  on  this  very  night  he  was  engaged  in  making  an 
assignment  of  his  jDroperty  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Shepard.  If  ever 
charity  should  furnish  a  mantle  for  error,  it  should  be  here. 
Imagination  cannot  picture  a  more  deplorable,  distressed  con- 
dition. 

The  same  general  remarks  may  be  aj^plied  to  his  conversa- 
tion with  Mr.  Tread  well,  as  have  been  made  uj^on  that  with 
Mr.  Shepard.  He  told  him,  that  he  believed  Frank  was  at 
home  about  the  usual  time.  In  his  conversations  with  either 
of  these  persons,  he  did  not  pretend  to  know,  of  his  own 
knowledge,  the  time  that  he  came  home.  He  now  tells  you 
positively  that  he  recollects  the  time,  and  that  he  so  told  Mr. 
Shepard.  He  is  directly  contradicted  by  both  these  witnesses, 
as  resjDectable  men  as  Salem  affords.' 

This  idea  of  an  alibi  is  of  recent  origin.  Would  Samuel 
Knapp  have  gone  to  sea  if  it  were  then  thought  of  ?  His  testi- 
mony, if  true,  was  too  important  to  be  lost.  If  there  be  any 
truth  in  this  part  of  the  alibi,  it  is  so  near  in  point  of  time  that 
it  cannot  be  relied  on.  The  mere  variation  of  half  an  hour 
would  avoid  it.  The  mere  variations  of  different  timepieces 
would  explain  it.^ 

Has  the  defendant  proved  where  he  was  on  that  night  ?  If 
you  doubt  about  it,  there  is  an  end  of  it.  The  burden  is  upon 
him  to  satisfy  you  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt.'  Osborn's 
books,  in  connection  with  what  the  young  men  state,  are  con- 
clusive, I  think,  on  this  point.  He  has  not,  then,  accounted 
for  himself  ;  he  has  attempted  it,  and  has  failed.'*  1  pray  you 
to  remember,  Gentlemen,  that  this  is  a  case  in  which  the 
prisoner  would,  more  than  any  other,  be  rationally  able  to  ac- 
count for  himself  on  the  night  of  the  murder,  if  he  could  do  so. 
He  was  in  the  conspirac}^,  he  knew  the  nmrder  was  then  to  be 
committed,  and  if  he  himself  was  to  have  no  hand  in  its  actual 
execution,  he  would  of  course,  as  a  matter  of  safety  and  pre- 
caution, ])e  somewhere  else,  and  be  able  to  prove  afterwards 
1  Page  (u.  -2  Page  179.  3  Page  34.  *  Page  58. 


320  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

that  he  had  been  somewhere  else.  Having  this  motive  to 
prove  himself  elsewhere,  and  the  jiower  to  do  it  if  he  were 
elsewhere,  his  failing  in  such  proof  must  necessarily  leave  a 
veiy  strong  inference  against  him. 

But,  Gentlemen,  let  us  now  consider  what  is  the  evidence 
13roduced  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  prove  that  John 
Francis  Knapp,  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  was  in  Brown  Street  on 
the  night  of  the  murder.  This  is  a  point  of  vital  importance 
in  this  cause.  Unless  this  be  made  out,  beyond  reasonable 
doubt,  the  law  of  p?'eseHce  does  not  apply  to  the  case.  The 
government  undertakes  to  prove  that  he  was  present  aiding  in 
the  murder,  by  proving  that  he  was  in  BroAvn  Street  for  this 
purpose.  Xow^,  what  are  the  undoubted  facts  ?  They  are,  that 
two  persons  were  seen  in  that  street,  several  times  during  that 
evening,  under  suspicious  circumstances  ;  under  such  circum- 
stances as  induced  those  who  saw  them  to  watch  their  move- 
ments. Of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Mirick  saw  a  man 
standing  at  the  post  opposite  his  store  from  fifteen  minutes  be- 
fore nine  until  twenty  minutes  after,  dressed  in  a  full  frock- 
coat,  glazed  cap,  and  so  forth,  in  size  and  general  appearance 
answering  to  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  This  person  was  waiting 
there  ;  and  whenever  any  one  approached  him,  he  moved  to 
and  from  the  corner,  as  though  he  would  avoid  being  suspected 
or  recognized.  Afterwards,  two  persons  were  seen  by  Webster, 
walking  in  Howard  Street,  with  a  slow,  deliberate  movement 
that  attracted  his  attention.  This  was  about  half-past  nine. 
One  of  these  he  took  to  be  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  the  other 
he  did  not  know. 

About  half -past  ten  a  person  is  seen  sitting  on  the  rope-walk 
steps,  wrapped  in  a  cloak.  He  drops  his  head  when  passed,  to 
avoid  being  known.  Shortly  after,  two  persons  are  seen  to 
meet  in  this  street,  without  ceremony  or  salutation,  and  in  a 
hurried  manner  to  converse  for  a  short  time  ;  then  to  separate, 
and  run  off  with  great  speed.  Xow,  on  this  same  night  a  gen- 
tleman is  slain,  murdered  in  his  bed,  his  house  being  entered 
by  stealth  from  without ;  and  his  house  situated  witliin  three 
hundred  feet  of  this  street.  The  Avindows  of  his  chamber  were 
in  plain  sight  from  this  street ;  a  weapon  of  death  is  afterwards 


WEBSTETl's    SPEECH.  321 

found  in  a  place  where  these  persons  were  seen  to  pass,  in  a 
reth*ed  place,  around  which  the}^  had  been  seen  lingering.  It 
is  now  known  that  this  murder  was  committed  by  four  persons, 
conspiring  together  for  this  purpose.  No  account  is  given  who 
these  suspected  persons  thus  seen  in  Brown  Street  and  its  neigh- 
borhood were.  jSTow,  I  ask,  Gentlemen,  whether  you  or  any  man 
can  doubt  that  this  murder  was  committed  by  the  persons  who 
were  thus  in  and  about  Brown  Street.  Can  any  person  doubt 
that  they  were  there  for  purposes  connected  with  this  murder  ? 
If  not  for  this  purpose,  what  Avere  they  there  for  ?  When  there 
is  a  cause  so  near  at  hand,  why  wander  into  conjecture  for  an 
explanation  ?  Common  sense  requires  you  to  take  the  nearest 
adequate  cause  for  a  known  effect.  Who  were  these  suspicious 
persons  in  Brown  Street  ?  There  was  something  extraordinary 
about  them  ;  something  noticeable,  and  noticed  at  the  time  ; 
sometliing  in  their  apjDcarance  that  aroused  suspicion.  And  a 
man  is  found  the  next  morning  murdered  in  the  near  vicinity. 

!N'ow,  so  long  as  no  other  account  shall  be  given  of  those  sus- 
picious persons,  so  long  the  inference  must  remain  irresistible 
that  they  were  the  murderers.'  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  it 
is  already  shown  that  this  murder  was  the  result  of  conspiracy 
and  of  concert  ;  let  it  be  remembered,  that  the  house,  having 
been  opened  from  within,  was  entered  by  stealth  from  without. 
Let  it  be  remembered  that  Brown  Street,  where  these  persons 
were  repeatedly  seen  under  such  suspicious  circumstances,  was 
a  place  from  which  every  occupied  room  in  Mr.  White's  house 
is  clearly  seen  ;  let  it  be  remembered,  that  the  place,  though 
thus  very  near  to  Mr.  White's  house,  is  a  retired  and  lonely 
place  ;  and  let  it  be  remembered  that  the  instrument  of  death 
was  afterwards  found  concealed  very  near  the  same  spot. 

Must  not  every  man  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  these  per- 
sons thus  seen  in  Brown  Street  were  the  murderers  ?  Every 
man's  own  judgment,  I  think,  must  satisfy  him  that  this  must 
be  so.  It  is  a  plain  deduction  of  common  sense.  It  is  a  point 
on  which  each  one  of  you  may  reason  like  a  Hale  or  a  Mans- 
field. The  two  occurrences  explain  each  other.  The  murder 
shows  why  these  persons  were  thus  lurking,  at  that  hour,  in 
1  Page  58. 


322  THE    ESSENTIAI.S    OF    i^RGUMENTATIOiT. 

Brown  Street ;  and  their  lurking  in  Brown  Street  shows  who 
committed  the  murder. 

If,  then,  the  persons  in  and  about  Brown  Street  were  the 
plotters  and  executers  of  the  murder  of  Captain  White,  we 
know  w^ho  they  were,  and  you  know  that  there  is  one  of  them. 

This  fearful  concatenation  of  circumstances  i)uts  him  to  an 
account.'  He  was  a  conspirator.  He  had  entered  into  this  plan 
of  murder.  The  murder  is  committed,  and  he  is  known  to  have 
been  within  three  minutes'  walk  of  the  place.  He  must  account 
for  himself.  He  has  attempted  this,  and  failed.  Then,  with 
all  these  general  reasons  to  show  he  was  actually  in  Brown 
Street,  and  his  failures  in  his  alihi^  let  us  see  what  is  the  direct 
proof  of  his  being  there. ^  But  first,  let  me  ask,  is  it  not  very 
remarkable  that  there  is  no  attempt  to  show  where  Richard 
Crowninshield,  Jr.  was  on  that  night  ?  We  hear  nothing  of 
him.  He  was  seen  in  none  of  his  usual  haunts  about  the  town. 
Yet,  if  he  was  the  actual  perpetrator  of  the  murder,  which  no- 
body doubts,  he  was  in  the  town  somewhere.  Can  you,  there- 
fore, entertain  a  doubt  that  he  was  one  of  the  persons  seen  in 
Brown  Street?  And  as  to  the  prisoner,  you  will  recollect,  that, 
since  the  testimony  of  the  young  men  has  failed  to  show  where 
he  was  on  that  evening,  the  last  we  hear  or  know  of  him,  on 
the  day  preceding  the  murder,  is,  that  at  four  o'clock,  p.m.,  he 
was  at  his  brothers  in  Wenham.  He  had  left  home,  after  din- 
ger, in  a  manner  doubtless  designed  to  avoid  observation,  and 
had  gone  to  Wenham,  probably  by  way  of  Danvers.  As  we 
hear  nothing  of  him  after  four  o'clock,  p.m.,  for  the  remainder 
of  the  day  and  evening  ;  as  he  was  one  of  the  conspirators  ;  as 
Eichard  Crowninshield,  Jr.  was  another  ;  as  Richard  Crownin- 
shield, Jr.  was  in  town  in  the  evening,  and  yet  seen  in  no  usual 
place  of  resort,  —  the  inference  is  very  fair,  that  Richard  CroAvn- 
inshield,  Jr.  and  the  prisoner  were  together,  acting  in  execution 
of  their  conspiracy.  Of  the  four  conspirators,  J.  J.  KnajDp,  Jr. 
was  at  AVenham,  and  George  Crowninshield  has  been  accounted 
for  ;  so  that  if  the  persons  seen  in  Brown  Street  were  the  mur- 
derers, one  of  them  must  have  been  Richard  Crowninshield,  Jr., 
and  the  other  must  have  been  the  prisoner  at  the  bar. 
1  Page  183.  2  Page  (31. 


Webster's  speech.  323 

Xow,  as  to  the  proof  of  his  identity  with  one  of  the  persons 
seen  in  Brown  Street.  Mr.  Mirick,  a  cautious  witness,  examined 
the  person  he  saw,  closely,  in  a  light  night,  and  says  that  he 
thinks  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  is  the  person  ;  and  that  he  should 
not  hesitate  at  all,  if  he  were  seen  in  the  same  dress.  His  opin- 
ion is  formed  partly  from  his  own  observation,  and  partly  from 
the  description  of  others.  But  this  description  turns  out  to  be 
only  in  regard  to  the  di-ess.  It  is  said,  that  he  is  now  more  con- 
fident than  on  the  former  trial.  If  he  has  varied  in  his  testi- 
mony, make  such  allowance  as  you  may  think  proper.  I  do  not 
perceive  any  material  variance.  He  thought  him  the  same  per- 
son, when  he  was  first  brought  to  court,  and  as  he  saw  him  get 
out  of  the  chaise.  This  is  one  of  the  cases  in  which  a  witness 
is  permitted  to  give  an  opinion.'  This  witness  is  as  honest  as 
yourselves,  neither  willing  nor  swift ;  but  he  says,  he  believes 
it  was  the  man.  His  words  are,  "This  is  my  opinion"  ;  and 
this  opinion  it  is  proper  for  him  to  give.  If  partly  founded  on 
what  he  has  heard,  then  this  opinion  is  not  to  be  taken  ;  but  if 
on  what  he  saw,  then  you  can  have  no  better  evidence.  I  lay 
no  stress  on  similarity  of  dress,  ^o  man  will  ever  lose  his  life 
by  my  voice  on  such  evidence.  But  then  it  is  proper  to  notice, 
that  no  inferences  drawn  from  any  dissimilarity  of  dress  can  be 
given  in  the  prisoner's  favor  ;  because,  in  fact,  the  person  seen 
by  Mirick  was  dressed  like  the  prisoner. 

The  description  of  the  person  seen  by  Mirick  answers  to  that 
of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  In  regard  to  the  supposed  discrep- 
ancy of  statements,  before  and  now,  there  would  be  no  end  to 
such  minute  inquiries.  It  would  not  be  strange  if  witnesses 
should  vary.  I  do  not  think  much  of  slight  shades  of  varia- 
tion. If  I  believe  the  witness  is  honest,  that  is  enough.  If  he 
has  expressed  himself  more  strongly  now  than  then,  this  does 
not  prove  him  false. ^  , 

Peter  E.  Webster  saw  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  as  he  then 
thought,  and  still  thinks,  walking  in  Howard  Street  at  half-past 
nine  o'clock.  He  then  thought  it  was  Frank  Knapp,  and  has 
not  altered  his  opinion  since.  He  knew  him  well ;  he  had 
long  known  him.  If  he  then  thought  it  was  he,  this  goes  far 
1  Page  49.  2  Page  CO. 


324  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGIJMENTATION. 

to  prove  it.  He  obsei'ved  him  the  more,  as  it  was  unusual  to 
see  gentlemen  walk  there  at  that  hour.  It  was  a  retired,  lonely 
street.  Now,  is  there  reasonable  doubt  that  Mr.  Webster  did 
see  him  there  that  night  ?  How  can  you  have  more  proof  than 
tliis  ?  He  judged  by  his  walk,  b}^  his  general  appearance,  by  his 
deportment.  We  all  judge  in  this  manner.  If  you  believe  he  is 
right,  it  goes  a  great  way  in  this  case.  But  then  this  person,  it  is 
said,  had  a  cloak  on,  and  that  he  could  not,  therefore,  be  the  same 
person  that  Mirick  saw.  If  we  were  treating  of  men  that  had 
no  occasion  to  disguise  themselves  or  their  conduct,  there  might 
be  something  in  this  argument.  But  as  it  is  there  is  little  in  it. 
It  may  be  presumed  that  they  would  change  their  dress.  This 
would  help  their  disguise.  What  is  easier  than  to  throw  off  a 
cloak,  and  again  put  it  on?  Perhaps  he  was  less  fearful  of 
being  known  when  alone,  than  when  with  the  perpetrator. 

Mr.  Southwick  swears  all  that  a  man  can  swear.  He  has 
the  best  means  of  judging  that  could  be  had  at  the  time.  He 
tells  you  that  he  left  his  father's  house  at  half-past  ten  o'clock, 
and  as  he  passed  to  his  o*wn  house  in  Brown  Street  he  saw  a 
man  sitting  on  the  steps  of  the  rope-walk  ;  that  he  passed  him 
three  times,  and  each  time  he  held  down  his  head,  so  that  he 
did  not  see  his  face.  That  the  man  had  on  a  cloak,  which  was 
not  wrapped  around  him,  and  a  glazed  cap.  That  he  took  the 
man  to  be  Frank  Knapp  at  the  time  ;  that,  when  he  went  into 
his  house,  he  told  his  wife  that  he  thought  it  was  Frank 
Knapp  ;  that  he  knew  him  well,  having  known  him  from  a 
boy.  And  his  wife  swears  that  he  did  so  tell  her  when  he 
came  home.  What  could  mislead  this  witness  at  the  time? 
He  was  not  then  suspecting  Frank  Knapp  of  anything.  He 
could  not  then  be  influenced  by  any  prejudice.  If  you  believe 
that  the  witness  saw  Frank  Knapp  in  this  position  at  this  time, 
it  proves  the  case.  Whether  you  believe  it  or  not  depends 
upon  the  credit  of  the  witness.  He  swears  it.  If  true,  it  is 
solid  evidence.  Mrs.  Southwick  supports  her  husband.  Are 
they  true  ?  Are  they  worthy  of  belief  ?  If  he  deserves  the 
epithets  applied  to  him,  then  he  ought  not  to  be  believed.  In 
this  fact  they  cannot  be  mistaken;  they  are  right,  or  they  are 
perjured.     As  to  his  not  speaking  to  Frank  Knapp,  that  de- 


WEBSTER'S    SPEECH.  325 

pends  upon  their  intimacy.  But  a  very  good  reason  is,  Frank 
chose  to  disguise  himself.  This  makes  nothing  against  his 
credit.  But  it  is  said  that  he  should  not  be  believed.  And  why  ? 
Because,  it  is  said,  he  himself  now  tells  you,  that,  when  he  testi- 
fied before  the  grand  jury  at  Ipswich,  he  did  not  then  say  that 
he  thought  the  person  he  saw  in  Brown  Street  was  Frank 
Knapp,  but  that  "the  person  was  about  the  size  of  Selman." 
The  means  of  attacking  him,  therefore,  come  from  himself.  If 
he  is  a  false  man,  why  should  he  tell  truths  against  himself? 
they  rely  on  his  veracity  to  prove  that  he  is  a  liar.^  Before  you 
can  come  to  this  conclusion,  you  will  consider  whether  all  the 
circumstances  are  now  known,  that  should  have  a  bearing  on 
this  point.  Suppose  that,  when  he  was  before  the  grand  jmy, 
he  was  asked  by  the  attorney  this  question,  "Was  the  person 
you  saw  in  Brown  Street  about  the  size  of  Selman  ?"  and  he  an- 
swered "  Yes.  This  was  all  true."  Suppose,  also,  that  he  ex- 
pected to  be  inquired  of  further,  and  no  further  questions  were 
put  to  him.  Would  it  not  be  extremely  hard  to  impute  to  him 
perjury  for  this  ?  It  is  not  uncommon  for  witnesses  to  think  that 
they  have  done  all  their  duty,  when  they  have  answered  the 
questions  put  to  them.  But  suppose  that  we  admit  that  he  did 
not  then  tell  all  he  knew,  this  does  not  affect  the  fact  at  all;  be- 
cause he  did  tell,  at  the  time,  in  the  hearing  of  others,  that  the 
person  he  saw  was  Frank  Knapp.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
suggestion  against  the  veracity  or  accuracy  of  Mrs.  Southwick. 
Kow  she  swears  positively,  that  her  husband  came  into  the 
house  and  told  her  that  he  had  seen  a  person  on  the  rope-walk 
steps,  and  believed  it  was  Frank  Knapp. ^ 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Southwick  is  contradicted,  also,  by  Mr. 
Shillaber.  I  do  not  so  understand  Mr.  Shillaber's  testimony.  I 
think  what  they  both  testify  is  reconcilable,  and  consistent. 
My  learned  brother  said,  on  a  similar  occasion,  that  there  is 
more  probability,^  in  such  cases,  that  the  persons  hearing  should 
misunderstand,  than  that  the  person  speaking  should  contra- 
dict himself.     I  think  the  same  remark  applicable  here. 

You  have  all  witnessed  the  uncertainty  of  testimony,  when 
witnesses  are  called  to  testify  what  other  witnesses  said.  Sev- 
1  Page  (J8.  2  Page  71.  »  Page  181. 


326  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATION. 

era!  respectable  counsellors  have  been  summoned,  on  this  oc- 
casion, to  give  testimony  of  that  sort.  They  have,  every  one 
of  them,  given  different  versions.  They  all  took  minutes  at  the 
time,  and  without  doubt  intend  to  state  the  truth.  But  still  they 
differ.  Mr.  Shillaber's  version  is  different  from  every  thing 
that  Southwick  has  stated  elsewhere.  But  little  reliance  is  to 
be  placed  on  slight  variations  in  testimon}^,  unless  they  are 
manifestly  intentional.'  I  think  that  Mr.  Shillaber  must  be  sat- 
isfied that  he  did  not  rightly  understand  Mr.  Southwick.  I  con- 
fess I  misunderstood  Mr.  Shillaber  on  the  former  trial,  if  I  now 
rightly  understand  him.  I,  therefore,  did  not  then  recall  Mr. 
Southwick  to  the  stand.  Mr.  Southwick,  as  I  read  it,  under- 
stood Mr.  Shillaber  as  asking  him  about  a  person  coming  out  of 
Newbury  Street,  and  whether,  for  aught  he  knew,  it  might  not 
be  Richard  Crowinshield,  Jr.  He  answered,  that  he  could  not 
tell.  He  did  not  understand  Mr.  Shillaber  as  questioning  him 
as  to  the  person  whom  he  saw  sitting  on  the  ste23s  of  the  rope- 
walk.  Southwick,  on  this  trial,  having  heard  Mr.  Shillaber,  has 
been  recalled  to  the  stand,  and  states  that  Mr.  Shillaber  entirely 
misunderstood  him.  This  is  certainl}^  most  i^robable,  because 
the  controlling  fact  in  the  case  is  not  controverted  ;  that  is,  that 
Southwick  did  tell  his  wife,  at  the  very  moment  he  entered  his 
house  that  he  had  seen  a  jDcrson  on  the  rope-walk  steps,  whom 
he  believed  to  be  Frank  Knapp.  Kothing  can  prove  with  more 
certainty  than  this,  that  Southwick,  at  the  time,  thought  the  per- 
son whom  he  thus  saw  to  be  the  prisoner  at  the  bar. 

Mr.  Bray  is  an  acknowledged  accurate  and  intelligent  wit- 
ness. He  was  highly  complimented  by  my  brother  on  the 
former  trial,  although  he  now  chai-ges  him  with  varying  his 
testimony-.  What  could  be  his  motive  ?  You  will  be  slow  in 
imputing  to  him  any  design  of  this  kind.  I  denj^  altogether  that 
there  is  any  contradiction.  There  may  be  differences,  but  not 
contradiction.  These  arise  from  the  difference  in  the  questions 
put ;  the  difference  between  believing  and  knowing.  On  the 
first  trial,  he  said  he  did  not  know  the  person,  and  now  says  the 
same.  Then,  we  did  not  do  all  we  had  a  right  to  do.  AVe  did 
not  ask  him  who  he  thought  it  was.     Kow,  when  so  asked,  he 

1  Page  60. 


Webster's  speech.  327 

says  he  believes  it  was  tlie  prisoner  at  the  bar.  If  he  had  then 
been  asked  this  question,  he  would  have  given  the  same  an- 
swer. That  he  has  exi3ressed  himself  more  strongly,  I  admit ; 
but  he  has  not  contradicted  himself.  He  is  more  confident  now  ; 
and  that  is  all.  A  man  may  not  assert  a  thing,  and  still  may 
have  no  doubt  upon  it.  Cannot  every  man  see  this  distinction 
to  be  consistent  ?  I  leave  him  in  that  attitude  ;  that  only  is  the 
difference.  On  questions  of  identity,  opinion  is  evidence.  We 
may  ask  the  witness,  either  if  he  knew  who  the  person  seen 
was,  or  who  he  thinks  he  was.  And  he  may  well  answer,  as 
Captain  Bray  has  answered,  that  he  does  not  know  who  it  was, 
but  that  he  thinks  it  was  the  prisoner. 

We  have  offered  to  produce  witnesses  to  prove,  that,  as  soon 
as  Bray  saw  the  prisoner,  he  pronounced  him  the  same  person. 
We  are  not  at  libertj'  to  call  them  to  corroborate  our  own  wit- 
ness. How,  then,  could  this  fact  of  the  prisoner's  being  in 
Brown  Street  be  better  proved  ?  If  ten  witnesses  had  testified 
to  it  it  would  be  no  better.  Two  men,  who  knew  him  well,  took 
it  to  be  Frank  Knapp,  and  one  of  them  so  said,  when  there  was 
nothing  to  mislead  them.  Two  others,  who  examined  him 
closel}',  now  swear  to  their  opinion  that  he  is  the  man.' 

Miss  Jaqueth  saw  three  j^ersons  pass  b}'  the  rope-walk,  sev- 
eral evenings  before  the  murder.  She  saw  one  of  them  point- 
ing towards  Mr.  White's  house.  She  noticed  that  another  had 
something  which  appeared  to  be  like  an  instrument  of  music  ; 
that  he  put  it  behind  him  and  attempted  to  conceal  it.  Who 
were  these  persons  ?  This  was  but  a  few  steps  from  the  place 
where  this  apparent  instrument  of  music  (of  music  such  as 
Kichard  Crowninshield,  Jr.  spoke  of  to  Palmer)  was  afterwards 
found.  These  facts  prove  this  a  point  of  rendezvous  for  these 
parties.  They  show  Brown  Street  to  have  been  the  place  for 
consultation  and  observation  ;  and  to  this  purpose  it  was  well 
suited. 

Mr.  Burns' s  testimony  is  also  important.  What  was  the 
defendant's  object  in  his  private  conversation  with  Burns? 
He  knew  that  Burns  was  out  that  night;  that  he  lived  near 
Brown  Street,  and  that  he  had  probably  seen  him;  and  he 

1  Page  59. 


328  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

wished  him  to  say  nothing.  He  said  to  Burns,  "If  you  saw 
any  of  your  friends  out  that  night,  say  nothing  about  it;  my 
brother  Joe  and  I  are  your  friends."  This  is  plain  proof  that 
he  wished  to  say  to  him,  if  you  saw  me  in  Brown  Street  that 
night,  say  nothing  about  it.'^ 

But  it  is  said  that  Burns  ought  not  to  be  believed,  because 
he  mistook  the  color  of  the  dagger,  and  because  he  has  varied 
in  his  description  of  it.  These  are  slight  circumstances,  if  his 
general  character  be  good.  To  my  mind  they  are  of  no  im- 
jDortance.  It  is  for  you  to  make  what  deduction  you  may  think 
proper,  on  this  account,  from  the  weight  of  his  evidence.  His 
conversation  with  Burns,  if  Burns  is  believed,  shows  two 
things;  first,  that  he  desired  Burns  not  to  mention  it,  if  he  had 
seen  him  on  the  night  of  the  murder;  second,  that  he  wished 
to  fix  the  charge  of  murder  on  Mr.  Stephen  White.  Both  of 
these  prove  his  own  guilt. 

I  think  you  will  be  of  opinion,  that  Brown  Street  was  a 
probable  place  for  the  conspirators  to  assemble,  and  for  an  aid 
to  be  stationed.  If  we  knew  their  whole  plan,  and  if  we  were 
skilled  to  judge  in  such  a  case,  then  we  could  perhaps  deter- 
mine on  this  point  better.  But  it  is  a  retired  place,  and  still 
commands  a  full  view  of  the  house;  a  lonely  place,  but  still  a 
place  of  observation.  Kot  so  lonely  that  a  person  would  ex- 
cite suspicion  to  be  seen  walking  there  in  an  ordinary  manner; 
not  so  public  as  to  be  noticed  by  man}^  It  is  near  enough  to 
the  scene  of  action  in  point  of  law.  It  was  their  point  of  cen- 
trality.  The  club  was  found  near  the  spot,  in  a  place  provided 
for  it,  in  a  place  that  had  been  previously  hunted  out,  in  a 
concerted  place  of  concealment.  Here  loas  their  point  of  ren- 
dezvous. Here  might  the  lights  be  seen.  Here  might  an  aid 
be  secreted.  Here  was  he  within  call.  Here  might  he  be 
aroused  by  the  sound  of  the  whistle.  Here  might  he  carry 
the  weapon.  Here  might  he  receive  the  murderer  after  the 
murder. 

Then,  Gentleman,  the  general  question  occurs.  Is  it  satis- 
factorily proved,  by  all  these  facts  and  circumstances,  that  the 
defendant  was  in  and  about  Brown  Street  on  the  night  of  the 
1  Page  55. 


Webster's  speech.  329 

murder  ?  Considering  that  the  murder  was  effected  by  a  con- 
spiracy; considering  that  he  was  one  of  the  four  conspirators; 
considering  that  two  of  the  conspirators  have  accounted  for 
themselves  on  the  night  of  the  murder,  and  were  not  in  Brown 
Street;  considering  that  the  prisoner  does  not  account  for  him- 
self, nor  show  where  he  was;  considering  that  Kichard  Crown- 
inshield,  the  other  conspirator  and  the  perpetrator,  is  not 
accounted  for,  nor  shown  to  be  elsewhere;  considering  that  it 
is  now  past  all  doubt  that  two  persons  were  seen  lurking  in 
and  about  Brown  Street  at  different  times,  avoiding  observa- 
tion, and  exciting  so  much  suspicion  that  the  neighbors  actually 
watched  them;  considering  that,  if  these  persons  thus  lurking 
in  Brown  Street  at  that  hour  were  not  the  murderers,  it  remains 
to  this  day  wholly  unknown  who  they  were  or  what  their  busi- 
ness was;  considering  the  testimony  of  Miss  Jaqueth,  and  that 
the  club  was  afterwards  found  near  this  place;  considering, 
finally,  that  Webster  and  Southwick  saw  these  persons,  and 
then  took  one  of  them  for  the  defendant,  and  that  Southwick 
then  told  his  wife  so,  and  that  Bray  and  Mirick  examined  them 
closely,  and  now  swear  to  their  belief  that  the  prisoner  was  one 
of  them; — it  is  for  you  to  sa}^,  putting  these  considerations  to- 
gether, whether  you  believe  the  prisoner  was  actually  in  Brown 
Street  at  the  time  of  the  murder.  ^ 

By  the  counsel  for  the  prisoner,  much  stress  has  been 
laid  upon  the  question,  whether  Brown  Street  was  a  place  in 
which  aid  could  be  given,  a  place  in  which  actual  assistance 
could  be  rendered  in  this  transaction.  This  must  be  mainly 
decided  by  their  own  opinion  who  selected  the  place  ;  by  what 
they  thought  at  the  time,  according  to  their  plan  of  operation. 

If  it  was  agreed  that  the  prisoner  should  be  there  to  assist, 
it  is  enough.  If  they  thought  the  place  proper  for  their  pur- 
pose, according  to  their  plan,  it  is  sufficient.  Suppose  we  coukl 
prove  expressly  that  they  agreed  that  Frank  should  be  there, 
and  he  was  there,  and  you  should  think  it  not  a  well-chosen 
place  for  aiding  and  abetting,  must  he  be  acquitted?  No!  It 
is  not  what  I  think  or  you  think  of  the  appropriateness  of  the 
place;  it  is  what  they  thought  at  the  time.  If  the  prisoner  was 
1  Page  205. 


330  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

in  Brown  Street  by  apiDointment  and  agreement  with  the  per- 
petrator, for  the  purpose  of  giving  assistance  if  assistance 
should  be  needed,  it  may  safely  be  presumed  that  the  place 
was  suited  to  such  assistance  as  it  was  supposed  by  the  parties 
might  chance  to  become  requisite. 

If  in  Brown  Street,  was  he  there  by  appointment  ?  was  he 
there  to  aid,  if  aid  were  necessary  ?  was  he  there  for,  or  against, 
the  murderer  ?  to  concur,  or  to  oppose  ?  to  favor  or  to  thwart  ? 
Did  the  pei-petrator  know  he  was  there,  there  waiting?  If  so, 
then  it  follows  that  he  was  there  by  appointment.  He  was  at 
the  post  half  an  hour  ;  he  was  waiting  for  somebody.  This 
proves  appointment,  arrangement,  previous  agreement;  then  it 
follows  that  he  was  there  to  aid,  to  encourage,  to  embolden  the 
perpetrator;  and  that  is  enough.  If  he  were  in  such  a  situation 
as  to  afford  aid,  or  that  he  was  relied  upon  for  aid,  then  he  was' 
aiding  and  abetting.  It  is  enough  that  the  conspirator  desired 
to  have  him  there.  Besides,  it  may  be  well  said,  that  he  could 
afford  just  as  much  aid  there  as  if  he  had  been  in  Essex  Street, 
as  if  he  had  been  standing  even  at  the  gate,  or  at  the  window. 
It  was  not  an  act  of  jDOwer  against  power  that  was  to  be  done; 
it  was  a  secret  act,  to  be  done  by  stealth.  The  aid  was  to  be 
placed  in  a  j^osition  secure  from  observation.  It  was  impor- 
tant to  the  security  of  both  that  he  should  be  in  a  lonely  place. 
Now  it  is  obvious  that  there  are  many  purposes  for  which  he 
might  be  in  Brown  Street. ' 

1.  Richard  Crowninshield  might  have  been  secreted  in  the 
garden,  and  waiting  for  a  signal ; 

2.  Or  he  might  be  in  Brown  Street  to  advise  him  as  to 
the  time  of  making  his  entry  into  the  house  ; 

3.  Or  to  favor  his  escape  ; 

4.  Or  to  see  if  the  street  was  clear  when  he  came  out ; 
o.  Or  to  conceal  the  weapon  or  the  clothes  ; 

G.  To  be  ready  for  any  unforeseen  contingency. 

Richard  Crowninshield  lived  in  Danvers.  He  would  retire 
by  the  most  secret  way.  Brown  Street  is  that  way.  If  you 
find  him  there,  can  you  doubt  why  he  was  there  ? 

If,  Gentlemen,  the  prisoner  went  into  Brown  street,  by 
1  Page  205. 


WEBSTER'S    SPEECH.  331 

appointment  with  the  perpetrator,  to  render  aid  or  encourage- 
ment in  any  of  these  ways,  he  was  present^  in  legal  contempla- 
tion, aiding  and  abetting  in  this  murder.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  he  should  have  done  any  thing;  it  is  enough  that  he  was 
ready  to  act,  and  in  a  place  to  act.  If  his  being  in  Brown 
Street,  by  appointment,  at  the  time  of  the  murder,  embold- 
ened the  purpose  and  encouraged  the  heart  of  the  murderer, 
by  the  hope  of  instant  aid,  if  aid  should  become  necessary, 
then,  without  doubt,  he  was  present,  aiding  and  abetting,  and 
was  a  princij)al  in  the  murder. 

I  now  proceed,  Gentlemen,  to  the  consideration  of  the 
testimony  of  Mr.  Colman.  Although  this  evidence  bears  on 
every  material  jjart  of  the  cause,  I  have  purposely  avoided 
every  comment  on  it  till  the  present  moment,  when  I  have 
done  with  the  other  evidence  in  the  case.  As  to  the  admis- 
sion of  this  evidence,  there  has  been  a  great  struggle,  and  its 
importance  demanded  it.  The  general  rule  of  law  is,  that 
confessions  are  to  be  received  as  evidence.  They  are  entitled 
to  great  or  to  little  consideration,  according  to  the  circum- 
stances under  which  they  are  made.  Voluntary,  deliberate 
confessions  are  the  most  important  and  satisfactory  evidence, 
but  confessions  hastily  made,  or  improperly  obtained,  are  en- 
titled to  little  or  no  consideration.  It  is  always  to  be  inquired, 
whether  they  were  purely  voluntaiy,  or  were  made  under  any 
undue  influence  of  hope  or  fear  ;  for,  in  general,  if  any  influ- 
ence were  exerted  on  the  mind  of  the  person  confessing,  such 
confessions  are  not  to  be  submitted  to  a  jury. 

"Who  is  Mr.  Colman  ?  ^  He  is  an  intelligent,  accurate,  and 
cautious  witness  ;  a  gentleman  of  liigh  and  well-known  char- 
acter, and  of  unquestionable  veracity  ;  as  a  clergyman,  highly 
respectable  ;  as  a  man,  of  fair  name  and  fame. 

Why  was  Mr.  Colman  with  the  prisoner  ?  Joseph  J.  Knapp 
was  his  parishioner  ;  he  was  the  head  of  a  family,  and  had  been 
married  by  Mr.  Colman.  The  interests  of  that  family  were  dear 
to  him.  He  felt  for  their  afflictions,  and  was  anxious  to  allevi- 
ate their  sufferings.  He  went  from  the  purest  and  best  of 
motives  to  visit  Joseph  Knapp.  He  came  to  save,  not  to  des- 
1  Pages  46,  279. 


332  THE    ESSENTIALvS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

troy  ;  to  rescue,  not  to  take  away  life.  In  this  family  he 
thought  there  might  be  a  chance  to  save  one.  It  is  a  miscon- 
struction of  Mr.  Colman's  motives,  at  once  the  most  strange 
and  the  most  uncharitable,  a  perversion  of  all  just  views  of  his 
conduct  and  intentions  the  most  unaccountable,  to  represent 
him  as  acting,  on  this  occasion,  in  hostility  to  any  one,  or  as 
desirous  of  injuring  or  endangering  any  one.  He  has  stated 
his  own  motives,  and  his  own  conduct,  in  a  manner  to  com- 
mand universal  belief  and  universal  respect.  For  intelligence, 
for  consistencj^,  for  accuracy,  for  caution,  for  candor,  never  did 
witness  acquit  himself  better,  or  stand  fairer.  In  all  that  he 
did  as  a  man,  and  all  he  has  said  as  a  witness,  he  has  shown 
himself  worthy  of  entire  regard. 

Now,  Gentlemen,  very  important  confessions  made  by  the 
prisoner  are  sworn  to  by  Mr.  Colman.  They  were  made  in  the 
prisoner's  cell,  where  Mr.  Colman  had  gone  Avith  the  prisoner's 
brother,  IN".  Phippen  Knapp.  Whatever  conversation  took  place 
was  in  the  presence  of  N.  P.  Knapp.  Now,  on  the  part  of  the 
prisoner,  two  things  are  asserted  ;  first,  that  such  inducements 
were  suggested  to  the  prisoner,  in  this  interview,  that  no  con- 
fessions made  by  him  ought  to  be  received  ;  second,  that,  in 
point  of  fact,  he  made  no  such  confessions  as  Mr.  Colman  testi- 
fies to,  nor,  indeed,  any  confessions  at  all.  These  two  propo- 
sitions are  attempted  to  be  supported  by  the  testimony  of  N.  P. 
Knapi3.  These  two  witnesses,  Mr.  Colman  and  N.  P.  Knapp, 
differ  entirely.  There  is  no  possibility  of  reconciling  them. 
No  charity  can  cover  both.  One  or  the  other  has  sworn  falsety. 
If  N.  P.  Knapp  be  believed,  Mr.  Colman's  testimony  must  be 
wholly  disregarded.  It  is,  then,  a  question  of  credit,  a  question 
of  belief  between  the  two  witnesses.  As  you  decide  between 
these,  so  you  will  decide  on  all  this  part  of  the  case.' 

Mr.  Colman  has  given  you  a  plain  narrative,  a  consistent  ac- 
count, and  has  uniformly  stated  the  same  things.  He  is  not 
contradicted,  except  by  the  testimony  of  Phijipen  Knapp.  He 
is  influenced,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  by  no  bias,  or  prejudice,  any 
more  than  other  men,  except  so  far  as  his  character  is  now  at 
stake.  He  has  feelings  on  this  point,  doubtless,  and  ought  to 
1  Pages  46,  G7. 


Webster's  speech.  333 

have.  If  what  he  has  stated  be  not  true,  I  cannot  see  any 
ground  for  his  escape.  If  he  be  a  true  man,  he  must  have  heard 
what  he  testifies.  Xo  treachery  of  niemor}^  brings  to  memory 
things  that  never  took  place.  There  is  no  reconciling  his  evi- 
dence with  good  intention,  if  the  facts  in  it  are  not  as  he  states 
them.     He  is  on  trial  as  to  his  veracity. 

The  relation  in  which  the  other  witness  stands  deserves  your 
careful  consideration.  lie  is  a  member  of  the  family.'  He  has 
the  lives  of  two  brothers  depending,  as  he  may  think,  on  the 
effect  of  his  evidence  ;  depending  on  every  word  he  sjieaks.  I 
hope  he  has  not  another  responsibility  resting  upon  him.  By 
the  advice  of  a  friend,  and  that  friend  Mr.  Colman,  J.  Knapp 
made  a  full  and  free  confession,  and  obtained  a  jjromise  of 
pardon.  He  has  since,  as  you  know,  probably  by  the  advice  of 
other  friends,  retracted  that  confession,  and  rejected  the  offered 
pardim.  Events  will  show  who  of  these  friends  and  advisers 
advised  him  best,  and  befriended  him  most.  In  the  mean  time, 
if  this  brother,  the  witness,  be  one  of  these  advisers,  and  ad- 
vised the  retraction,  he  has,  most  emphatically,  the  lives  of 
his  brothers  resting  upon  his  evidence  and  upon  his  conduct. 
Compare  the  situation  of  these  two  witnesses.  Do  you  not  see 
mighty  motive  enough  on  the  one  side,  and  want  of  all  motive 
on  the  other?  I  Avould  gladly  find  an  apology  for  that  witness, 
in  his  agonized  feelings,  in  his  distressed  situation  ;  in  the  agi- 
tation of  that  hour,  or  of  this.  I  would  gladly  impute  it  to 
error,  or  to  want  of  recollection,  to  confusion  of  mind,  or  dis- 
turbance of  feeling.  I  would  gladly  impute  to  any  pardonable 
source  that  which  cannot  be  reconciled  to  facts  and  to  truth  ; 
but,  even  in  a  case  calling  for  so  much  sj'-mpathy,  justice  must 
yet  prevail,  and  we  must  come  to  the  conclusion,  however  re- 
luctantly, which  that  demands  from  us. 

It  is  said,  Phippen  Knapp  was  probably  correct,  because  he 
knew  he  should  probably  be  called  as  a  witness.^  AVitness  to 
what  ?  When  he  says  there  was  no  confession,  what  could  he 
expect  to  bear  witness  of  ?  But  I  do  not  put  it  on  the  ground 
that  he  did  not  hear  ;  I  am  compelled  to  put  it  on  the  other 

1  Page  48.  '-^  Page  206. 


334  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

ground,  that  he  did  hear,  and  does  not  now  truly  tell  what  he 
heard. 

If  Mr.  Colman  w^ere  out  of  the  case,  there  are  other  reasons 
why  the  story  of  Phippen  Knapp  should  not  be  believed.  It 
has  in  it  inherent  improbabilities.'  It  is  unnatural,  and  incon- 
sistent with  the  accompanying  circumstances.  He  tells  you 
that  they  went  "  to  the  cell  of  Frank,  to  see  if  he  had  any  ob- 
jection to  taking  a  trial,  and  suffering  his  brother  to  accept  the 
offer  of  pardon  "  ;  in  other  words,  to  obtain  Frank's  consent  to 
Joseph's  making  a  confession  ;  and  in  case  this  consent  was  not 
obtained,  that  the  pardon  would  be  offered  to  Frank.  Did  they 
bandy  about  the  chance  of  life,  between  these  two,  in  this  way  ? 
Did  Mr.  Colman,  after  having  given  this  pledge  to  Joseph,  and 
after  having  received  a  disclosure  from  Joseph,  go  to  the  cell  of 
Frank  for  such  a  purpose  as  this  ?  It  is  impossible  ;  it  cannot 
be  so. 

Again,  we  know  that  Mr.  Colman  found  the  club  the  next 
day  ;  that  he  went  directly  to  the  place  of  deposit,  and  found  it 
at  the  first  attempt,  exactly  where  he  says  he  had  been  informed 
it  was.  ^ow  Phippen  Knapp  says  that  Frank  had  stated 
nothing  respecting  the  club  ;  that  it  was  not  mentioned  in  that 
conversation.  He  says,  also,  that  he  was  present  in  the  cell  of 
Joseph  all  the  time  that  Mr.  Colman  w^as  there  ;  that  he  be- 
lieves he  heard  all  that  was  said  in  Joseph's  cell ;  and  that  he 
did  not  himself  know  where  the  club  was,  and  never  had  known 
where  it  was,  until  he  heard  it  stated  in  court.  IS'ow  it  is  cer- 
tain that  Mr.  Colman  says  he  did  not  learn  the  particular  place 
of  deposit  of  the  club  from  Joseph  ;  that  he  only  learned  from 
him  that  it  was  deposited  under  the  steps  of  the  Howard  Street 
meeting-house,  without  defining  the  particular  steps.  It  is  cer- 
tain, also,  that  he  had  more  knowledge  of  the  position  of  the 
club  than  this  ;  else  how  could  he  have  placed  his  hand  on  it  so 
readily  ?  and  where  else  could  he  have  obtained  this  knowledge, 
except  from  Frank.'* 

1  Page  67. 

2  Here  Mr.  Dexter  said  that  Mr.  Cohnan  had  had  other  interviews  with 
Joseph,  and  might  have  derived  the  information  from  him  at  previous 
visits.  i\rr.  We])ster  replied,  that  Mr.  Colman  had  testified  that  he 
learned  nothing  in  relation  to  tlie  cluh  until  this  visit.      Mr.  Dexter 


Webster's  speech.  335 

My  point  is  to  show  that  Phippen  Knapp's  story  is  not  tme, 
is  not  consistent  with  itself  ;  that,  taking  it  for  granted,  as  he 
says,  that  he  heard  all  that  was  said  to  Mr.  Colman  in  both 
cells,  by  Joseph  and  by  Frank  ;  and  that  Joseph  did  not  state 
particularly  where  the  club  was  deposited  ;  and  that  he  knew 
as  much  about  the  place  of  deposit  of  the  club  as  Mr.  Colman 
knew  ;  why,  then  Mr.  Colman  must  either  have  been  miracu- 
lously informed  respecting  the  club,  or  Phippen  Knapp  has 
not  told  you  the  whole  truth.  There  is  no  reconciling  this, 
without  supposing  that  Mr.  Colman  has  misrepresented  what 
took  place  in  Joseph's  cell,  as  well  as  what  took  place  in 
Frank's  cell. 

Again,  Phippen  Knapp  is  directly  contradicted  by  Mr. 
Wheatland.  Mr.  Wheatland  tells  the  same  story,  as  coming 
from  Phijipen  Knapp,  that  Colman  now  tells.  Here  there  are 
two  against  one.  Phippen  Knapp  says  that  Frank  made  no 
confessions,  and  that  he  said  he  had  none  to  make.  In  this 
he  is  contradicted  by  Wheatland.  He,  Phippen  Knapp,  told 
Wheatland,  that  Mr.  Colman  did  ask  Frank  some  questions, 
and  that  Frank  answered  them.  He  told  him  also  what  these 
answers  were.  Wheatland  does  not  recollect  the  questions  or 
answers,  but  recollects  his  reply  ;  which  was,  "Is  not  this 
premature  ?  I  think  this  answer  is  sufficient  to  make  Frank  a 
principal."  Here  Phippen  Knapp  opposes  himself  to  Wheat- 
land, as  well  as  to  Mr.  Colman.  Do  you  believe  Phippen 
Knapp  against  these  two  respectable  witnesses,  or  them  against 
him? 

Is  not  Mr.  Colman's  testimony  credible,  natural,  and 
proper?     To  judge  of  this,  you  must  go  back  to  that  scene. 

The  murder  had  been  committed  ;  the  two  Knapps  were 
now  arrested  ;  four  persons  were  already  in  jail  supposed  to  be 
concerned  in  it,  the  Crowninshields,  and  Selman,  and  Chase. 
Another  person  at  the  Eastward  was  supposed  to  be  in  the  plot ; 
it  was  important  to  learn  the  facts.  To  do  this,  some  one  of 
those  suspected  must  be  admitted  to  turn  state's  witness.     The 

denied  there  being  any  such  testimony.  Mr.  Cohnan's  evidence  was 
read  from  the  notes  of  the  judges  and  several  other  persons,  and  Mr. 
Webster  tlien  proceeded. 


336  THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  ARGtJMENTATION. 

contest  was,  Who  should  have  this  privilege  ?  It  was  un- 
derstood that  it  was  about  to  be  offered  to  Palmer,  then  in 
Maine  ;  there  was  no  good  reason  why  he  should  have  the  pref- 
erence. Mr.  Colman  felt  interested  for  the  family  of  the 
Knapps,  and  particularly  for  Joseph.  He  was  a  young  man 
who  had  hitherto  maintained  a  fair  standing  in  society  ;  he  was 
a  husband.  Mr.  Colman  was  particularly  intimate  with  his 
family.  With  these  views  he  went  to  the  prison.  He  believed 
that  he  might  safely  converse  with  the  prisoner,  because  he 
thought  confessions  made  to  a  clergyman  were  sacred,  and  that 
he  could  not  be  called  upon  to  disclose  them.  He  went,  the 
first  time,  in  the  morning,  and  was  requested  to  come  again. 
He  went  again  at  three  o'clock  ;  and  was  requested  to  call  again 
at  five  o'clock.  In  the  mean  time  he  saw  the  father  and 
Phippen,  and  they  wished  he  would  not  go  again,  because  it 
would  be  said  the  prisoners  were  making  confession.  He  said 
he  had  engaged  to  go  again  at  five  o'clock  ;  but  would  not,  if 
Phippen  would  excuse  him  to  Joseph.  Phippen  engaged  to  do 
this,  and  to  meet  him  at  his  ofiice  at  five  o'clock.  Mr.  Colman 
went  to  the  ofiice  at  the  time,  and  waited  ;  but,  as  Phippen 
was  not  there,  he  walked  down  street,  and  saw  him  coming 
from  the  jail.  He  met  him,  and  while  in  conversation  near 
the  church,  he  saw  Mrs.  Beckford  and  Mrs.  Knapp  going  in  a 
chaise  towards  the  jail.  He  hastened  to  meet  them,  as  he 
thought  it  not  proper  for  them  to  go  in  at  that  time.  "While 
conversing  with  them  near  the  jail,  he  received  two  dis- 
tinct messages  from  Joseph,  that  he  wished  to  see  him.  He 
thought  it  proper  to  go  ;  and  accordingly  went  to  Joseph's  cell, 
and  it  was  while  there  that  the  disclosures  were  made.  Before 
Joseph  had  finished  his  statement,  Phippen  came  to  the  door  ; 
he  was  soon  after  admitted.  A  short  interval  ensued,  and  they 
went  together  to  the  cell  of  Frank.  Mr.  Colman  went  in  by  in- 
vitation of  Phippen  ;  he  had  come  directly  from  the  cell  of 
Joseph,  where  he  had  for  the  first  time  learned  the  incidents 
of  the  tragedy.  He  was  incredulous  as  to  some  of  the  facts 
which  he  had  learned,  they  were  so  different  from  his  previous 
impressions.  He  was  desirous  of  knowing  whether  he  could 
place  confidence  in  what  Joseph  had  told  him.     He,  therefore, 


Webster's  speech.  337 

put  the  questions  to  Frank,  as  he  has  testified  before  you  ;  in 
answer  to  which  Frank  Knapp  informed  liim, — 

1.  "That  the  murder  took  place  between  ten  and  eleven 
o'clock." 

2.  "  That  Kichard  Crowninshield  was  alone  in  tlie  house.  " 

3.  "  That  he,  Frank  Knapp,  went  home  afterwards.  " 

4.  "  That  the  club  was  deposited  under  the  steps  of  the 
Howard  Street  meeting-house,  and  under  the  part  nearest  the 
burying-ground,  in  a  rat-hole."  ^ 

5.  "  That  the  dagger  or  daggers  had  been  worked  up  at  the 
factory."  ' 

It  is  said  that  these  five  answers  just  fit  the  case  ;  that  they 
are  just  what  was  wanted,  and  neither  more  nor  less.  True, 
they  are  ;  but  the  reason  is,  because  truth  always  fits.  Truth  is 
always  congruous,  and  agrees  with  itself ;  every  truth  in  the 
universe  agrees  with  every  other  truth  in  the  universe  ;  whereas 
falsehoods  not  only  disagree  with  truths,  but  usually  quarrel 
among  themselves.  Surely  Mr.  Colman  is  influenced  by  no  bias, 
no  prejudice  ;  he  has  no  feelings  to  warp  him,  except,  now  that 
he  is  contradicted,  he  may  feel  an  interest  to  be  believed. 

If  you  believe  Mr.  Colman,  then  the  evidence  is  fairly  in  the 
case. 

I  shall  now  proceed  on  the  ground  that  you  do  believe  Mr. 
Colman. 

When  told  that  Joseph  had  determined  to  confess,  the  de- 
fendant said,  "  It  is  hard,  or  unfair,  that  Joseph  should  have 
the  benefit  of  confessing,  since  the  thing  was  done  for  his 
benefit."  ^  What  thing  was  done  for  his  benefit  ?  Does  not  this 
carry  an  implication  of  the  guilt  of  the  defendant  ?  Does  it 
not  show  that  he  had  a  knowledge  of  the  object  and  history  of 
the  murder  ? 

The  defendant  said,  "  I  told  Joseph,  when  he  proposed  it, 
that  it  was  a  silly  business,  and  would  get  us  into  trouble."  ^  He 
knew,  then,  what  this  business  was  ;  he  knew  that  Joseph  pro- 
posed it,  and  that  he  agreed  to  it,  else  he  could  not  get  us  into 
trouble  ;  he  understood  its  bearing  and  its  consequences.  Thus 
much  was  said,  under  circumstances  that  make  it  clearly  evi- 
Pages  59,  205.  2  Page  55. 


338  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

dence  against  him,  before  there  is  any  pretence  of  an  induce- 
ment held  out.  And  does  not  this  prove  him  to  have  had  a 
knowledge  of  the  conspiracy  ? 

He  knew  the  daggers  had  been  destroyed,  and  he  knew  Avho 
committed  the  murder.  How  could  he  have  innocently  known 
these  facts  ?  Why,  if  by  Richard's  story,  this  shows  him  guilty 
of  a  knowledge  of  the  murder,  and  of  the  conspiracy.  More 
than  all,  he  knew  when  the  deed  was  done,  and  that  he  went 
home  afterwards.  This  shows  his  participation  in  that  deed. 
"Went  home  afterwards"  !  Home,  from  what  scene?  home, 
from  what  fact?  home,  from  what  transaction?  home,  from 
what  place  ?  This  confirms  the  supposition  that  the  prisoner 
was  in  Brown  Street  for  the  purposes  ascribed  to  him.  These 
questions  were  directly  put,  and  directly  answered.  He  does 
not  intimate  that  he  received  the  information  from  another. 
Xow,  if  he  knows  the  time,  and  went  home  afterwards,  and 
does  not  excuse  himself,  is  not  this  an  admission  that  he  had  a 
hand  in  this  murder?  Already  proved  to  be  a  conspirator  in 
the  murder,  he  now  confesses  that  he  knew  who  did  it,  at  what 
time  it  was  done,  that  he  was  himself  out  of  his  own  house  at 
the  time,  and  went  home  afterwards.  Is  not  this  conclusive, 
if  not  explained  ?  Then  comes  the  club.  He  told  where  it 
was.  This  is  like  possession  of  stolen  goods.  He  is  charged 
with  the  guilty  knowledge  of  this  concealment.  He  must  show, 
not  say,  how  he  came  by  this  knowledge.  If  a  man  be  found 
with  stolen  goods,  he  must  prove  how  he  came  by  them.  The 
place  of  deposit  of  the  club  was  premeditated  and  selected,  and 
he  knew  where  it  was. 

Joseph  Knapp  was  an  accessory,  and  an  accessory  only  ;  he 
knew  only  what  was  told  him.  But  the  prisoner  knew  the 
particular  spot  in  which  the  club  might  be  found.  This  shows 
his  knowledge  something  more  than  that  of  an  accessory.  This 
presumption  must  be  rebutted  by  evidence,  or  it  stands  strong 
against  him.  He  has  too  much  knowledge  of  this  transaction 
to  have  come  innocently  by  it.  It  must  i^tand  against  him  un- 
til he  explains  it. 

This  testimony  of  Mr.  Colman  is  represented  as  new  matter, 
and  therefore  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  excite  a  prejudice 


Webster's  speech.  339 

against  it.  It  is  not  so.  How  little  is  there  in  it,  after  all, 
that  did  not  appear  from  other  sources  ?  It  is  mainly  confirm- 
atory. Compare  what  you  learn  from  this  confession  with 
what  you  before  knew. 

As  to  its  being  proposed  by  Joseph,  was  not  that  known  ? 

As  to  Richard's  being  alone  in  the  house,  was  not  that 
known  ? 

As  to  the  daggers,  was  not  that  known  ? 

As  to  the  time  of  the  murder,  was  not  that  known  ? 

As  to  his  being  out  that  night,  was  not  that  known  ? 

As  to  his  returning  afterwards,  was  not  that  known? 

As  to  the  club,  was  not  that  known  ? 

So  this  information  confirms  what  was  known  before,  and 
fully  confirms  it.' 

One  word  as  to  the  interview  between  Mr.  Colman  and 
Phippen  Knapp  on  the  turnpike.  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Colman' s 
conduct  in  this  matter  is  inconsistent  with  his  testimony. 
There  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  any  inconsistency.  He 
tells  you  that  his  object  was  to  save  Joseph,  and  to  hurt  no 
one,  and  least  of  all  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  He  had  probably 
told  Mr.  ■\^^lite  the  substance  of  what  he  heard  at  the  prison. 
He  had  probably  told  him  that  Frank  confirmed  what  Joseph 
had  confessed.  He  was  unwilling  to  be  the  instrument  of 
harm  to  Frank.  He  therefore,  at  the  request  of  Phippen 
Knapp,  wrote  a  note  to  Mr.  White,  requesting  him  to  consider 
Joseph  as  authority  for  the  information  he  had  received.  He 
tells  you  that  this  is  the  only  thing  he  has  to  regret,  as  it 
may  seem  to  be  an  evasion,  as  he  doubts  whether  it  is  en- 
tirely correct.  If  it  was  an  evasion,  if  it  was  a  deviation,  if 
it  was  an  error,  it  was  an  error  of  mercy,  an  error  of  kind- 
ness,—  an  error  that  proves  he  had  no  hostility  to  the  pris- 
oner at  the  bar.  It  does  not  in  the  least  vary  his  testimony, 
or  affect  its  correctness.  Gentlemen,  I  look  on  the  evidence 
of  Mr.  Colman  as  highly  important ;  not  as  bringing  into 
the  cause  new  facts,  but  as  confirming,  in  a  very  satisfactory 
manner,  other  evidence.  It  is  incredible  that  he  can  be  false, 
and  that  he  is  seeking  the  prisoner's  life  through  false  swear- 
i  Page  59,  205. 


340  THE   ESSENTIAT.S    OF    ATJGUMEXTATTON. 

ing.  If  he  is  true,  it  is  incredible  that  the  prisoner  can  be 
innocent. 

Gentlemen,  I  have  gone  through  with  the  evidence  in  this 
case,  and  have  endeavored  to  state  it  j^lainly  and  fairl}^  before 
you.  I  think  there  are  conclusions  '  to  be  drawn  from  it,  the 
accuracy  of  which  j'ou  cannot  doubt.  I  think  you  cannot 
doubt  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
committing  this  murder,  and  who  the  conspirators  were  : 

That  you  cannot  doubt  that  the  Crowninshields  and  the 
Knapps  were  the  parties  in  this  conspiracy  : 

That  you  cannot  doubt  that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  knew 
that  the  murder  was  to  be  done  on  the  night  of  the  6th  of 
April : 

That  you  cannot  doubt  that  the  murderers  of  Captain  White 
were  the  suspicious  persons  seen  in  and  about  Brown  Street 
on  that  night : 

That  you  cannot  doubt  that  Richard  Crowninshield  was  the 
perpetrator  of  that  crime  : 

That  you  cannot  doubt  that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  was  in 
Brown  Street  on  that  night. 

If  there,  then  it  must  be  by  agreement,  to  countenance,  to 
aid  the  jjerjDetrator.^    And  if  so,  then  he  is  guilty  as  Principal. 

Gentlemen,  your  whole  concern  should  be  to  do  your  duty, 
and  leave  consequences  to  take  care  of  themselves.^  You  will 
receive  the  law  from  the  court.  Your  verdict,  it  is  true,  may 
endanger  the  prisoner's  life,  but  then  it  is  to  save  other  lives. 
If  the  prisoner's  guilt  has  been  shown  and  proved  beyond  all 
reasonable  doubt,  you  will  convict  him.  If  such  reasonable 
doubts  of  guilt  still  remain,  you  will  acquit  him.  You  are  the 
judges  of  the  whole  case.  You  owe  a  duty  to  the  public,  as 
well  as  to  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  You  cannot  presume  to  be 
wiser  than  the  law.  Your  duty  is  a  plain,  straightforward  one. 
Doubtless  we  would  all  judge  him  in  mercy.  Towards  him,  as 
an  individual,  the  law  inculcates  no  hostility  ;  but  towards 
him,  if  he  proved  to  be  a  murderer,  the  law,  and  the  oaths  you 
have  taken,  and  public  justice,  demand  that  you  do  your  duty. 

With  consciences  satisfied  with  the  discharge  of  duty,  no 
1  Pages  256,  257.  ^  Pages  205,  23«.  3  Page  257. 


WEBSTER'S    SPEECH.  341 

consequences  can  harm  you.  There  is  no  evil  that  we  cannot 
either  face  or  fly  from,  but  the  consciousness  of  duty  dis- 
regarded. A  sense  of  duty  pursues  us  ever.  It  is  omni- 
present, like  the  Deity.  If  we  take  to  ourselves  the  wings  of 
the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  duty 
performed,  or  duty  violated,  is  still  with  us,  for  our  happiness 
or  our  misery.  If  we  say  the  darkness  shall  cover  us,  in  the 
darkness  as  in  the  light  our  obligations  are  yet  with  us.  We 
cannot  escape  their  power,  nor  fly  from  their  presence.  They 
are  with  us  in  this  life,  will  be  with  us  at  its  close  ;  and  in  that 
scene  of  inconceivable  solemnity,  which  lies  yet  farther  on- 
ward, we  shall  still  find  ourselves  surrounded  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  duty,  to  pain  us  wherever  it  has  been  violated,  and  to 
console  us  so  far  as  God  may  have  given  us  grace  to  perform 
it. 


842  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUJSIENTATION. 


BKUTUS'S   SPEECH   IX   JULIUS   C^SAK,  III.  2. 

After  the  assassination  of  Ccesar,  Antony  is  allowed  to  ad- 
dress the  people  on  condition  that  he  speak  no  evil  of  the  con- 
spirators while  saj'ing  all  the  good  he  can  of  Ceesar.  Brutus 
flatters  himself  that  he  will  obviate  all  danger  from  the  mob  by 
mounting  the  rostrum  and  explaining  "  The  reason  of  Caesar's 
death."  Eeason  to  a  mob  !  It  is  even  to  such  a  point  as  this 
that  Brutus  is  carried  by  his  illusions.  His  ignorance  of  men's 
hearts  and  his  blindness  to  actual  facts,  we  have  already  seen  ; 
but  till  now,  he  had  given  no  proof  of  his  absolute  lack  of  com- 
mon sense.  So  little  does  he  know  of  men  that  when  address- 
ing this  multitude,  he  sj^eaks  to  them  as  to  so  many  philoso- 
phers ;  he  sternl}^  forbids  himself  any  persuasive  eloquence  of 
animated  gesture  or  pathetic  tones,  because  he  himself  desj^ises 
any  appeal  to  the  imagination  or  to  the  passions,  and  cares  only 
for  what  recommends  itself  to  his  reason.  His  speech  is  a 
model  of  the  most  finished  conciseness  and  studied  coldness  ; 
but  the  irony  of  facts  brings  about  as  unexpected  a  turn  of 
affairs  as  ever  humiliated  the  eloquence  of  a  public  orator.  His 
speech  was  received  with  loud  applause,  it  is  true  ;  but  silence 
would  have  been  better.  He  spoke  of  one  thing,  and  all  the 
people  understood  another  ;  he  spoke  of  the  love  of  country  and 
of  justice  ;  the  people  understood  him  as  asking  for  power  and 
honors  ;  he  spoke  of  the  glory  of  having  cast  down  tyranny,  and 
the  people  thought  to  please  him  by  offering  to  put  him  in 
Caesar's  place  !  His  laconic  and  sententious  stj'le,  his  "  reasons," 
his  coldness,  his  lack  of  sympathy,  his  ignorance  of  men  and  the 
base  facts  of  life,  his  inability  to  gauge  the  littleness  of  little 
souls,  —  render  his  conscious  patriotism,  his  honesty  of  purpose 
and  his  angelic  candor  utterly  ineffectual  with  the  many- 
headed  multitude  i  :  — 

"Romans,  countrj^men,  and  lovers  !  hear  me  for  my  cause, 
and  be  silent  that  you  may  hear  :  believe  me  for  mine  honor, 
and  have  respect  to  mine  honor,  that  you  may  believe  :  censure 

1  Adapted  from  Stapfer's  Shakespeare  and  Classical  Antiquity. 


BRUTUS'S     SPEECH.  343 

me  iu  your  wisdom,  and  awake  your  senses,  that  you  may 
the  better  judge.  If  there  be  any  in  this  assembly,  any  dear 
friend  of  C?esar's,  to  him  I  say,  that  Brutus'  love  to  Caesar  was 
no  less  than  his.  If  then  that  friend  demand  why 
Brutus  rose  against  Caesar,  this  is  my  answer  :  — 
Not  that  I  loved  Ccesar  less,  but  that  I  loved  Eome  more. 
Had  j'OU  rather  Csesar  were  living  and  die  all  slaves,  than  that 
Ciesar  were  dead,  to  live  all  free  men  ?  As  Ca3sar  loved  me,  I 
weep  for  him  ;  as  he  was  fortunate,  I  rejoice  at  it ;  as  he  was 
valiant,  I  honor  him :  but  as  he  was  ambitious,  I  slew  him. 
There  is  tears  for  his  love  ;  joy  for  his  fortune  ;  honor  for  his 
valour  ;  and  death  for  his  ambition.  Who  is  here  so  base  that 
would  be  a  bondman  ?  If  any,  speak  ;  for  him  have  I  offended. 
Who  is  here  so  rude  that  would  not  be  a  Eoman  ?  If  any, 
speak  ;  for  him  have  I  offended.  Who  is  here  so  vile  that  will 
not  love  his  countr}-  ?  If  any,  speak  ;  for  him  have  I  offended. 
I  pause  for  a  reply. 

"  All.  — Kone,  Brutus,  none. 

"  Then  none  have  I  offended.  I  have  done  no  more  to 
Caesar  than  j^ou  shall  do  to  Brutus.  The  question  of  his 
death  is  enrolled  in  the  Capitol  ;  his  glory  not  extenuated, 
wherein  he  was  worthy,  nor  his  offences  enforced,  for  which 
he  suffered  death.  Here  comes  his  body,  mourned  by  Mark 
Anton}^  :  who,  though  he  had  no  hand  in  his  death,  shall 
receive  the  benefit  of  his  dying,  a  place  in  the  commonwealth  ; 
as  which  of  you  shall  not?  With  this  I  depart,  —  that,  as  I 
slew  my  best  lover  for  the  good  of  Rome,  I  have  the  same 
dagger  for  myself,  when  it  shall  please  my  country  to  need  my 
death. 

"  My  Countrymen, — 
Good  countrymen,  let  me  depart  alone, 
And,  for  my  sake,  stay  here  with  Antony  : 
Do  grace  to  Ca?sar's  corpse,  and  grace  his  speech 
Tending  to  Caesar's  glories  ;  which  Mark  Antony, 
By  our  permission,  is  allow'd  to  make. 
I  do  entreat  you,  not  a  man  depart, 
Save  I  alone,  till  Antony  have  spoke." 


344  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 


a:n^to:n^y's  speech  in  julius  c^sar,  hi.  2. 

It  was  easy  for  Antony  with  his  artistic  temperament,  to  give 
tears  to  the  victim  of  conspiracy.  With  his  splendid  capacity 
of  receiving  vivid  impressions  from  anything  grand, — 

"  When  Antony  found  JuKus  Caesar  dead 
He  cried  almost  to  roaring." 

When  he  begged  permission  of  Brutus  to  speak  at  Caesar's 
funeral,  he  probably  had  no  intention  of  turning  the  opportunity 
to  account :  he  never  guessed  the  immense  effect  of  his  elo- 
quence on  the  crowd.  Not  till  afterward  did  Antony  perceive 
the  advantage  that  permission  to  address  the  multitude  gave 
him  ;  and  only  in  the  course  of  his  speech  did  he  perceive  to 
what  length  this  advantage  might  be  pushed. 

In  order  thoroughly  to  appreciate  this  famous  speech,  with 
its  strange  mixture  of  good  faith  and  astuteness,  of  premedi- 
tated art  and  the  sudden  and  irresistible  inspiration  of  the 
moment,  we  must  picture  to  ourselves  the  unpropitious  circum- 
stances under  which  the  speaker  labored  at  the  beginning. 
Brutus  had  stipulated  that  Antony  should  cast  no  blame  upon 
the  conspirators,  and  had  himself,  the  very  moment  before, 
publicly  justified  the  murder  of  Ctesar  ;  so  that  the  people  upon 
seeing  Antony  ascend  the  tribune,  all  cried  with  one  voice, 
"  'Twere  best  he  speak  no  hann  of  Brutus  here."  "  This  Caesar 
was  a  tyrant."  "We  are  blessed  that  Rome  is  rid  of  him." 
Then  Anton}-  began  his  magnificent  address,  his  eloquence 
soon  carrying  his  hearers  with  him,  and  finally  working  them  up 
to  such  a  pitch  of  excitement,  that  they  burst  out  into  groans 
for  Caesar's  death,  and  cries  of  revenge  for  his  wrongs.  The 
people  departed  tumultuously  to  set  fire  to  the  traitor's  houses  ; 
and  Antony,  as  he  stood  there,  left  alone,  said  with  cynical  in- 
difference —  not  the  indifference  of  an  ambitious  man  pursuing 
relentlessly  a  definite  aim,  but  of  an  elegant  conjurer  who  has 
succeeded  in  performing  a  brilliant  piece  of  juggling  by  means 


ANTONY'S    SPEECH.  345 

of  the  terrible  and  powerful  weapon  of  a  public  appeal  to  the 
passions  of  his  audience  :  — 

"  Xow  let  it  work  !     Mischief,  thou  art  afoot, 
Take  thou  what  course  thou  wilt." 

His  splendid  presence,  thrilling  tones,  sympathetic  nature, 
thorough  acquaintance  with  himself,  his  theme  in  all  its  bear- 
ings, and  of  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  hearers,  gave  him  a 
power  seldom  possessed.' 

THE     SPEECH. 

"  Friends,  Komans,  countrymen,  lend  me  your  ears  ; 

I  come  to  bury  Caesar,  not  to  praise  him. 

The  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them  ; 

The  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  bones  : 

So  let  it  be  with  Ceesar.     The  noble  Brutus 

Hath  told  3'ou  Csesar  Avas  ambitious  : 

If  it  were  so,  it  was  a  grevious  fault ; 

And  grievously  hath  Ca3sar  answered  it. 

Here,  under  leave  of  Brutus  and  the  rest, — 

For  Brutus  is  an  honorable  man  ; 

So  are  the}'  all,  all  honorable  men, — 

Come  I  to  speak  in  Ciesar's  funeral. 

He  was  my  friend,  faithful  and  just  to  me  : 

But  Brutus  sa3'S  he  was  ambitious  ; 

And  Brutus  is  an  honorable  man. 

He  hath  brought  many  captives  home  to  Eorae, 

"Whose  ransom  did  the  general  coffers  fill  : 

Did  this  in  Csesar  seem  ambitious  ? 

When  that  the  poor  have  cried,  Ctesar  hath  wept : 

Ambition  should  be  made  of  sterner  stuff : 

Yet  Brutus  says  he  was  ambitious  ; 

And  Brutus  is  an  honorable  man. 

You  all  did  see  that  on  the  Lupercal 

I  thrice  presented  him  a  kingly  crown, 

Which  he  did  thrice  refuse  :  was  this  ambition  ? 

Yet  Brutus  says  he  was  ambitious  ; 

1  Adapted  from  Stapfer's  iS/iaA;e6"pea/"e  toul  Classical  Antiquity. 


346  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

And,  sure,  he  is  an  honorable  man. 

I  speak  not  to  dis2)rove  what  Brutus  spoke, 

But  here  I  am,  to  sjDeak  what  I  do  know. 

You  all  did  love  him  once,  —  not  without  cause  : 

What  cause  withholds  you,  then,  to  mourn  for  him?- 

O  judgment,  thou  art  fled  to  brutish  beasts. 

And  men  have  lost  their  reason  !  —  Bear  with  me  ; 

My  heart  is  in  the  coffin  there  with  Caesar, 

And  I  must  pause  till  it  come  back  to  me. 

But  yesterday  the  word  of  Csesar  might 

Have  stood  against  the  world  :  now  lies  he  there. 

And  none  so  poor  to  do  him  reverence. 

0  masters,  if  I  were  disposed  to  stir 
Your  hearts  and  minds  to  mutiny  and  rage, 

1  should  do  Brutus  wrong,  and  Cassius  wrong. 
Who,  you  all  know,  are  honorable  men  : 

I  will  not  do  them  wrong  ;  I  rather  choose 

To  wrong  the  dead,  to  wrong  myself,  and  you. 

Than  I  will  wrong  such  honorable  men. 

But  here's  a  parchment  with  the  seal  of  Caesar, 

I  found  it  in  his  closet,  —  'tis  his  will : 

Let  but  the  commons  hear  this  testament,  — 

Which,  pardon  me,  I  do  not  mean  to  read, — 

And  they  would  go  and  kiss  dead  Caesar's  wounds, 

And  dip  their  napkins  in  his  sacred  blood  ; 

Yea,  beg  a  hair  of  him  for  memory, 

And,  dying,  mention  it  within  their  wills, 

Bequeathing  it,  as  a  rich  legacy. 

Unto  their  issue. 

Have  patience,  gentle  friends,  I  must  not  read  it ; 
It  is  not  meet  j'ou  know  how  Caesar  loved  you. 
You  are  not  wood,  you  are  not  stones,  but  men  ; 
And,  being  men,  hearing  the  will  of  Caesar, 
It  will  inflame  you,  it  will  make  you  mad. 
'Tis  good  3^ou  know  not  that  you  are  his  heirs  ; 
For,  if  you  should,  O,  what  would  come  of  it ! 


Antony's  speech.  347 

Will  you  be  patient  ?     Will  you  stay  awhile  ? 

I  have  o'ershot  myself  to  tell  you  of  it : 

I  fear  I  wrong  the  honorable  men 

Whose  daggers  have  stabbed  Ca?sar  ;  I  do  fear  it. 

You  will  compel  me,  then,  to  read  the  will? 
Then  make  a  ring  about  the  corpse  of  CiBsar, 
And  let  me  show  you  him  who  made  the  will. 
Shall  I  descend  ?    And  will  you  give  me  leave  ? 

If  you  have  tears,  prepare  to  shed  them  noAv. 

You  all  do  know  this  mantle  :  I  remember 

The  first  time  ever  Cfesar  put  it  on  ; 

'Twas  on  a  summer's  evening,  in  his  tent, 

That  day  he  overcame  the  ^ervii. 

Look,  in  this  place  ran  Cassius'  dagger  through  : 

See  what  a  rent  the  envious  Casca  made  : 

Through  this  the  well-beloved  Brutus  stabbed  ; 

And,  as  he  plucked  his  cursed  steel  away, 

Mark  how  the  blood  of  C?esar  followed  it. 

As  rushing  out  of  doors,  to  be  resolved 

If  Brutus  so  unkindly  knocked,  or  no  ; 

For  Brutus,  as  you  know,  was  Ca'sar's  angel : 

Judge,  O  you  gods,  how  dearly  Ca'sar  loved  him  I 

This  was  the  most  unkindest  cut  of  all  ; 

For,  when  the  noble  Csesar  saw  him  stab, 

Ingratitude,  more  strong  than  traitor's  arms, 

Quite  vanquished  him  :  then  burst  his  mighty  heart ; 

And,  in  his  mantle  muffling  up  his  face. 

Even  at  the  base  of  Pompey's  statue. 

Which  all  the  while  ran  blood.  Great  Csesar  fell. 

O,  what  a  fall  was  there,  my  countrymen  ! 

Then  I,  and  you,  and  all  of  us  fell  down. 

While  bloody  treason  flourished  over  us. 

O,  now  you  weep  ;  and,  I  perceive,  you  feel 

The  dint  of  pity  :  these  are  gracious  drops. 

Kind  souls,  what,  weep  you  when  you  but  behold 

Our  Csesar's  vesture  wounded  ?     Look  you  here, 


348  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

Here  is  himself,  marred,  as  you  see,  with  traitors. 

Stay,  countrymen. 
Good  friends,  sweet  friends,  let  me  not  stir  you  up 
To  such  a  sudden  flood  of  mutiny. 
They  that  have  done  this  deed  are  honorable  : 
What  private  griefs  they  have,  alas,  I  know  not. 
That  made  them  do  it ;  the}'  are  wise  and  honorable, 
And  will,  no  doubt,  with  reasons  answer  you. 
I  come  not,  friends,  to  steal  away  your  hearts  : 
I  am  no  orator,  as  Brutus  is  ; 
But,  as  you  know  me  all,  a  plain  blunt  man 
That  love  my  friend  ;  and  that  they  knew  full  well 
That  gave  me  public  leave  to  speak  of  him  : 
For  I  have  neither  wit,  nor  words,  nor  worth, 
Action,  nor  utterance,  nor  the  power  of  speech, 
To  stir  men's  blood  :  I  only  sjDeak  right  on  ; 
I  tell  you  that  which  you  yourselves  do  know  ; 
Show  you  sweet  Caesar's  wounds,  poor  poor  dumb  mouths, 
And  bid  them  speak  for  me  :  but  were  I  Brutus, 
And  Brutus  Antony,  there  were  an  Antony 
Would  ruffle  up  your  spirits,  and  put  a  tongue 
In  every  wound  of  Ceesar,  that  should  move 
The  stones  of  Kome  to  rise  and  mutiny. 

Yet  hear  me,  countrymen  ;  hear  me  speak. 

Why,  friends,  you  go  about  to  do  you  know  not  what. 

Wherein  hath  Caesar  thus  deserved  your  loves  ? 

Alas,  you  know  not ;  I  must  tell  you,  then  : 

You  have  forgot  the  will  I  told  you  of. 

Here  is  the  will,  and  under  Caesa'rs  seal. 

To  every  Roman  citizen  he  gives, 

To  every  several  man,  seventy-five  drachmas. 

Hear  me  with  patience. 
Moreover,  he  hath  left  you  all  his  walks, 
His  private  arbors,  and  new  planted  orchards, 
On  this  side  Tiber  :  he  hath  left  them  you, 
And  to  your  heirs  forever  ;  common  pleasures, 


Antony's  speech.  349 

To  walk  abroad,  and  recreate  yourselves. 

Here  was  a  Csesar  !     When  comes  such  another  ? 

Now  let  it  work  !     Mischief,  thou  art  afoot, 
Take  thou  what  course  thou  wilt. 


350  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 


OUTLINE     OF     WEBSTER'S     ARGUMENT     AT     THE 
WHITE  MURDER  TRIAL. 

A. 

INTRODUCTION. 

I.    Personal  explanations  : 

1.  Relation  to  criminal  cases  in  general  ; 

2.  Relation  to  this  case  ; 

(a)  Brought  here  not  to  thwart  justice,  but  help  se- 
cure it, 
(h)  Has  no  illwill  toward  the  prisoner, 
(c)  Has  a  strong  desire  to  punish  the  murderer, 
(f?)  Is  willing  to  share  in  necessary  opprobrium. 
II.    Supposed  facts  in  the  case  : 

1.  A  cool,  calculating,  money-making  murder  has  been 
committed  ; 
(a)  The  murderer's  character  is  diabolical, 
(h)  The  manner  of  the  murder  is  most  shocking, 
(c)  The  eifect  of  the  crime  on  the  murderer's  con- 
science is  to  drive  him  to  suicide,  and  this  is 
confession. 
III.    Attitude  of  the  community  : 

1.  There  is  great  excitement,  rewards  are  offered,  com- 

mittees are  appointed,  and  efforts  are  made  to  de- 
tect the  criminals  ;  but 

2.  There   is   admiration   for    the    murderer's    skill,    and 

praise    for    the    excellence    of    the    performance  ; 
which 
(a)  Perverts  the  minds  of  the  young,  and 
(6)  Forgets  that  the  crime  is  murder. 
TV.    Great   labor   is    required    to    remove    all  doubts   of   the 
prisoner's  guilt. 

B. 

PROVISIONAL    REFUTATION. 

I.    Complaints  and  answers  : 


OUTLINE  OF  Webster's  argument.         351 

1.  It  is  complained  that 

(a)  Special  counsel  is  employed  by  the  prosecution, 
(6)  Rewards  have  been  offered, 

(c)  Vigilance  committees  have  been  appointed, 

(d)  A  special  session  of  the  court  has  been  called, 

(e)  The  prisoner  was  not  made  principal  at  first,  that 

his  indictment  as  such  is  an  after-thought. 

2.  It  is  answered  that 

(«)  Special  counsel  has  been  employed  in  like  cases 

(Goodridge  Robbery)  and  no  fault  found, 
(h)  Rewards  are  always  offered  in  such  cases, 

(c)  The  moral  sense  of  the  community  demanded  the 

appointment  of  vigilance  committees, 

(d)  No  trial  was  possible  without  a  special  session  of 

court, 

(e)  The  charge  is  false,  the  case  of  the  Knapps  had 

not  been  previously  before  the  grand  jury. 

3.  It  is  claimed  by  defendant's  counsel  that 

(a)  They  are  more  concerned  for  the  law  than  for  their 

client, 

(b)  Law  is  made  for  the  protection  of   the  innocent 

rather  than  for  the  punishment  of  the  guilty. 

4.  It  is  answered  that 

(«)  The  verdict  will  vindicate  the  law, 

(6)  Let  the  law  be  so  administered  as  to  protect  such 

innocent  persons  as  the  murdered  White,  by 

punishing  the  guilty. 

5.  The  prisoner's  counsel  does  not  meet  the  case  ;  they 

should  either  deny  or  admit  the  charge. 

c. 

THE  DISCUSSION. 

I.   The  case  stated  : 

1.  Proposition  in  form  of  question.  The  question  is,  (i) 
''  Was  Captain  White  murdered  in  pursuance  of  a 
conspiracy,  and  was  the  prisoner  one  of  the  con- 
spirators ?     If  so,  (ti)  was  he  so  connected  with  the 


352  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

murder  that  he  is  hable  to  be  convicted  as  princi- 
pal?" 

He  is  indicted  on  three  counts,  as  principal  ;  (i) 
as  having  done  the  deed  with  his  own  hand,  (ii)  as 
an  aider  and  abettor  of  Richard  Crowninshield,  Jr., 
(Hi)  as  aider  and  abettor  of  some  person  unknown. 
If  the  jury  believe  him  to  be  guilty  on  any  of  these 
three  counts  or  in  any  of  these  ways,  he  is  to  be 
convicted. 

2.  The  case  is  peculiar  ;  for 

(a)  The  supposed  immediate  perpetrator  of  the  deed 

has  committed  suicide, 
(h)  The  supposed  original  planner  of  the  deed,  after 
making  a  full  confession,  now  refuses  to  testify. 

3.  The  case  is  specially  important  ;  for 

(a)  If  the  prisoner  is  not  convicted  as  principal,  no 

one  can  be, 
(6)  Xor  can  any  one  be  convicted  as  accessory, 
(c)  The  prisoner  and  his  fellow  conspirators  will  be 

set  loose  on  the  communit}'. 
II.    The  Proof  Stated  :  The  prosecution  relies  on, 

1.  Undisputed  circumstances  ; 

(a)  A  letter  from   Mr.  Palmer   from  Belfast,  impli- 

cating the  KnajDjDS, 

(b)  Fabricated  letters  from  the  Knapps,  casting  sus- 

picion on  S.  White, 

(c)  The  absence  of  Captain  White's  housekeeper,  Mrs. 

Beckford, 

(d)  The  abstracting  and  secreting  of  the  door  key  to 

Captain  White's  chamber,  and  the  unfastening 
of  his  window  from  within. 

2.  Testimony  of  witnesses,  undisputed  and  disputed. 
III.   The  case  argued  : 

1.  The  murder  of  Mr.  White  was  in  i:)ursuance  of  a  con- 
si3iracy,  and  the  prisoner  was  one  of  the  conspirators. 
The  first  part  of  the  proposition  is  evident  from  ; 
(a)  The  appearance  of  White's  premises  the  morning 
after  the  crime. 


OUTLINE  OF  Webster's  argument.  353 

(a)  There  had  been  no  alarm, 

(b)  The  chamber  window  had  been  unbarred  from 

within, 

(c)  The  key  was  gone  from  the  door, 

(d)  The  track  of  the  murderer  coming  towards  the 

window  was  still  visible, 

(e)  The  plank  still  remained  against  the  house  at 

the  window, 
(h)  The   motives  of  Joseph  Knapp  for  desiring  the 
death  of  Mr.  White,  and  the  destruction  of  a 
will,  for 

(a)  His  wife's  mother  was  the  supposed  heir  to 

one  half  of  White's  estate,  should  he  die 
without  a  will, 

(b)  Mr.  White  was  known  to  have  bequeathed  the 

bulk  of  his  estate  to  his  nephew,  Stephen 
White, 

(c)  A  previous  will  was  supposed  to  be  more  favor- 

able to  Mrs.  Beckford, 

(c)  Palmer's  testimony  that  the  KnapjDS  intended  to 

steal  the  will, 

(d)  Many  circumstances  confirming  this  evidence, 

(e)  The  attempt  to  cast  suspicion  on  S.  White. 
The  second  part  of  the  proposition  follows  from  ; 

(/)  The  concession  of  counsel  that  Crowninshield  was 
the  actual  perj^etrator,  for 

(a)  Crowninshield  had  no  motive  to  do  the  murder, 

(b)  All  circumstances  show  him  to  have  been  in- 

stigated  by   the    Knapps,    and   aided   and 
abetted  by  Frank  Knapp. 
The  Conspiracy  was  —  "J.  J.  Knapp,  desirous 
of  destroying  the  will  and  taking  the  life  of  the  de- 
ceased, hired  a  ruffian,  who  with  the  aid  of  other 
ruffians  was  to  enter  the  house  and  murder  him  in 
his  bed."     This  is  evident  from  ; 
(g)  The  Knapps'  knowledge  of  the  will  months  ago, 
and  J.  J's  having  false  keys  giving  him  access 
to  it, 


354  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

(a)  Endicott  testifies  to  this, 

(b)  Palmer  testifies  to  this. 

(c)  It  is  objected  that  Palmer  is  not  a  competent 

witness  : 

It  is  answered, 

(1)  He  is  not  chosen  by  the  government,  he  is 

the  confidant  of  the  conspirators, 

(2)  Circumstances  corroborate  his  testimony, 

(3)  The  attempt  to  impair  his  testimony  has 

failed, 

(4)  He  got  his  information  from  the  Knapps, 

as  shown  by 
(i)  The  facts  testified  to, 

(2)  His  letter  from  Belfast, 

(3)  Several  meetings, 

(h)  The    murder's    being    contemplated    for    several 
weeks,  for 

(a)  Crowninshield  was  in  Wenham  in  March  and 

called  for  J.  J.  Knapp, 

(b)  Frank  Knapp  was  in  Danvers  in  February, 
(i)   J.  J.  Knapp's  asking  Frank  '  when  he  was  going  to 

kill  the  old  man,'  and  saying  '  he  would  not  pay 
if  it  were  not  done  soon,' 
(a)  Leighton  testifies  to  this, 
(J)  The  action  of  the  Knapps  and  others  implying  their 
connection  with  the  conspiracy,  for 

(a)  The  two  fabricated  letters  expose  the  author's 

guilt,  for 

(1)  They   attempt   to   cast    suspicion   on   S. 

White, 

(2)  They  reveal  the  writer's  knowledge  of  the 

details  of  the  murder, 

(b)  The  Knapps  melted  the  dagger  before    sus- 

picion was  fastened  upon  them,  indicating 
guilt, 

(c)  The  feigned  robbery  was  an  attempt  to  divert 

suspicion, 

(d)  J.   J.   Knapp   paid   Crowninshield  a  sum  of 


OUTLINE  OF  Webster's  argument.         355 

money  in  five-franc   pieces   about  April  24 
for 

(1)  He  received  a  large   sum  in  such  pieces 

about  April  17, 

(2)  He  deposited  it  in  a  bank  in  Wenham, 

(3)  He  was  in  Wenham  with  Crowninshield 

April  24, 

(4)  Crowninshield  spent  several  such  pieces  im- 

mediately thereafter,  as  also  did  Palmer, 

(5)  They  refuse  to   tell   where   they  got  the 

money, 
(e)  Crowninshield  was  greatly  excited  when  Pal- 
mer was  arrested   and  attempted   to   com- 
municate with  him, 
(k)  J.  J.  Knapp's  having  secreted  the  door  key,  and 
having  opened  the  chamber  window,  for 

(a)  He  had  free  access  to  the  house, 

(b)  He  frequently  visited  there, 

(c)  He  could  do  this  without  suspicion, 

(d)  He  was  there  the  previous  Saturday  evening, 
(?)  Prank  Knapp's  being  in  White's  yard  between  3 

and  4  o'clock  the  morning  after  the  murder, 
(a)  Savary  testifies  to  having  seen  him  there. 
(m)  Summary  of  the  proofs  that  there  was  a  conspiracy 
to  murder  W^hite,  and  that  the  prisoner  was  in  it. 
2.  The  prisoner,  Prank  Knapp,  was  present  aiding  and 
abetting  the  murder : 
[Exposition  of  terms  : 

A.  To  be  present  aiding  and  abetting  includes  not  only 

actual  presence  and  participation,  —  but 

(a)  Being  at  a  distance,  co-operating,  watching 

(1)  To  give  alarm, 

(2)  To  prevent  relief, 

(3)  To  assist  in  escape,  or 

(b)  Knowing  the  object  and  purpose  of  the  assassin. 

(Chief  Justice.) 

B.  Murder  is  of  two  kinds  : 
(a)  Killing  in  a  fray. 


356  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGTJ^IENTATION. 

(b)  Killing,  premeditated,  deliberate,  secret.  In 
this  kind  the  intention  is  assumed,  and  pre- 
sence actual  or  constructive  is  proof  of  inten- 
tion to  aid  and  abet.] 

(a)  The  suggestion  that  Frank  Knapp  was  present  out 

of  curiosity  or  to  hear  the  news,  or  with  any  other 
intention  than  to  aid  and  abet,  is  absurd  ;  for 
(a)  The  law  construes  readiness  to  assist  and  power 
to  assist  as  assisting  ; 
(1)  It  is  so  stated  by  Chief  Justice  Foster, 

(b)  It  is  claimed  that  the  prisoner  could  not  afford  aid 

from  Brown  Street,  and  therefore  cannot  be  con- 
victed as  principal ;  this  is  beside  the  question, 
which  is 

(a)  Was  he  there  to  aid  and  abet  the  murder? 

(b)  Was  he  there  b}'  appointment  with  Crownin- 

shield  ? 

(c)  Frank  Knapp  was  in  Brown  Street  as  an  aider  and 

abettor,  for 
(a)  He  knew  of  the  proposed  murder, 

(1)  He  had  that  day  visited  Joseph  J.  at  Wen- 

ham, 

(2)  He  had  that  da}'  visited  Crowninshield  at 

Danvers, 
(i)  He  had  hired  a  horse,  refusing  to  tell 
where  he  was  going, 

(3)  He  had  met   the  Crowninshield s   several 

times  in  a  few  days, 

(4)  He  had  seen  Mrs.  Beckford  and  knew  she 

would  be  absent, 
(y)  He  had  seen  one  or  another  conspirator 
every  day, 

(d)  Frank  Knapp' s  presence  in  Brown  Street  would 

give  courage  to  Crowninshield, 

(e)  His  interest  lay  in  being  somewhere  else,  yet  he 

does  not  explain  his  presence  in  Brown  Street, 
he  did  nothing  to  prevent  the  murder, 
(/)  Whatever  is  aid  in  actual  presence  is  aid  in  con- 


OUTLINE    OF    WEBSTER'S    ARGUMENT.  357 

structive  presence,  and  Frank  Knapp  was  con- 
structively present, 
(a)  This  is  the  decision  in  cases  of  Hyde,  Kelly,  et 

{g)  Of  the  four  conspirators,  Frank  Knapp  would  be 
most  likely  to  be  present,  for 

(a)  He  was  fond  of  exploits, 

(b)  He  was  expert  in  the  use  of  weapons, 

(c)  None  of  the  others  could  be  there,  as  their 

Avhereabouts  are  known, 
(Ji)  Frank  Knapp  has  given  no  satisfactory  account  of 
himself  at  the  time  of  the  murder,  for 

(a)  His  attempted  alibi  fails, 

(1)  Mr.  Page's  testimony  is  unsatisfactory  in 

many  ways, 

(2)  Mr.  White  was  uncertain  as  to  the  night, 

(3)  Mr.  Balch  has  given  different  and  conflict- 

ing accounts, 

(4)  Mr.  Burchison  makes  it  impossible  to  trust 

his  memory, 

(5)  Mr.  Forrester  is  entirely  uncertain  as  to  the 

night, 

(6)  Osborn's  books  show  that  the  night  he  was 

with  these  young  men,  was  the  night 
previous  to  the  murder, 

(b)  Other  testimony  brought  forward  by  the  de- 

fendant is  unreliable,  for 

(1)  His   brother    makes    contradictory    state- 

ments, 

(2)  His  father  is  too  confused  to  give  trust- 

worthy testimon}', 
(i)  He  was  grief-stricken, 
{2)  He  was  that  evening  assigning  his  prop- 
erty to  a  friend, 
(5)  Mr.  Shepard  contradicts  it, 
(4)  Mr.  Treadwell  contradicts  it, 

(c)  The  alibi  is  only  an  after-thought. 


358  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

Siimmaiy  of  evidence  raising  presumption  of  the 
prisoner's  guilt. 

(i)  Two  persons  were  seen  under  suspicious  circum- 
stances in  Brown  Street  several  times  the  even- 
ing of  the  murder,  one  of  whom  Mr.  Mirick  took 
for  the  prisoner, 

(./)  Later  two  persons  were  seen  acting  suspiciously  in 
Howard  Street  and  again  m  Brown  Street, 

(k)  Later  a  deadly  weapon  was  found  hidden  where 
they  had  met, 

(I)  Inference,  these  persons  were  the  murderers  of 
Mr.  White,  for 

(a)  They  acted  suspiciously, 

(b)  They  met  several  times  as  if  concerting  for  a 

crime, 

(c)  They  avoided  recognition, 

(d)  They  M^ere  in  a  lonely  place,  but  could  look  into 

every  room  in  White's  house, 

(e)  They  fled  precii^itately  at  the  last  meeting, 

(f)  The   murder   was   committed   between    these 

meetings, 

(g)  A  deadly  weapon  was  found  where  they  had 

met, 
(h)  Crowninshield  was  one  of  these  persons,  for 

(1)  It  is  known  that  he  was  in  town,  and  he 

does  not  satisfactorily  account  for  him- 
self, 

(2)  Two  of  the  four  conspirators  account  for 

themselves, 
(i)  Frank  Knapp  was  the  other  person,  for 

( 1 )  He  gives  no  satisfactory  account  of  himself, 

(2)  Mr.  Mirick,  a  cautious  witness,  believes  it 

to  be  him, 

(3)  Mr.  Webster  believes  he  saw  Frank  walk- 

ing in  Howard  Street  about  9.30, 

(4)  Mr.  South  wick  is  positive  he  saw  Frank 

walking  in  Brown  Street  at  10.30, 

(5)  Captain  Bray  thinks  it  was  Frank  Knapp, 


OUTLINE   OF   WEBSTER'S   ARGUMENT.  359 

(6)  These  streets  were  a  rendezvous  for  Kiiapp 

and  Crowninshield, 
(i)  Miss  Jaqueth  had  noticed  them, 
(2)  The  weapon  was  found  there, 

(7)  Knapp  asked  Burns  not  to  tell  if  he  saw 

him  out  that  evening. 
Summary  of  proofs  that  Brown  Street  and 
Howard  Street  were  a  place  of  rendezvous  for 
Frank   Knapp   and   Crowninshield,   and   that 
they  were  there  on  the  evening  of  the  niur- 
■  der. 
(m)  It  is  objected  that  Brown  Street  was  not  a  suitable 
place  from  which  to  render  aid.     This  must  be 
determined  by  those  who  chose  it.     The  purpose 
of  Knapp's  presence  might  be  that, 

(a)  Crow^ninshield  was  secreted  in  the  garden  and 

awaited  a  signal,  or 

(b)  Awaited  advice  as  to  the  time  of  entering  the 

house,  or 

(c)  Needed  help  in  making  his  escape,  or 

(d)  Awaited  a  signal  that  the  street  was  clear,  or 

(e)  Needed  some  one  to  conceal  his  weapon  or  his 

clothes,  or 

(f )  Needed  aid  in  some  unforeseen  contingency. 
(??)  Joseph  J.  Knapp  confessed  in  prison  to  Mr.  Col- 
man,  a  clergyman,  that  (i)  The  murder  took  place 
between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  (ii)  Crownin- 
shield was  alone  in  the  house,  {Hi)  Frank  Knapp 
went  home  afterwards,  (iv)  the  club  was  de- 
posited under  the  Howard  Street  church  steps, 
(r)  The  dagger  had  been  worked  up  at  the  fac- 
toiy, 

(a)  Mr.  Colman  testifies  to  this  and  is  to  be 
believed,  for 

(1)  He  isan  intelligent,  accurate,  cautious  wit- 

ness, 

(2)  He  was  Joseph  J.  Knapp's  pastor  and  in- 

timate friend, 


360  THE   ESSENTIALS   OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

(3)  What  he  says  is  consistent  with  all  the  cir- 

cumstances, 

(4)  If  J.  J.  Knapp  now  refuses  to  testify,  it  is 

at  the  request  of  friends  who  hope  to 
profit  by  his  refusal, 

(5)  If  Mr.  Colman's  statement  is  contrary  to 

Mr.  ^N".  P.  Knapp's  it  is  still  to  be  re- 
ceived, for 
(-?)  ^N.  P.  Knapp  now  contradicts  what  he 
formerly  stated, 

(2)  His  statement  is  inconsistent  with  cir- 

cumstances, 

(3)  It  is  inherently  improbable, 

(4)  He  is  an  interested  witness, 

(5)  He  is  contradicted  by  Mr.  Wheatland, 

(6)  He  formerly  told  the  same  story  which 

Mr.  Colman  tells, 
(a)  Mr.  Wheatland  testifies  to  this, 

(7)  When   told   of  J.  J.'s   confession,  F. 

Knapj)  asked,   "  Is  this  not  prema- 
ture?" 

(6)  When  Mr.  Colman  received  the  confession, 

he  supposed  he  would  not  be  obliged  to 
testify,  being  a  clergyman, 

(7)  He  found  the  club  where  he  says  J.  J. 

Knapp  told  him  to  look  for  it, 

(8)  His   statement   merely  confirms   what   is 

known  from  other  sources, 
(o)  Frank  Knapp,  upon  being  questioned,  confirmed 

J.  J.  Knapp's  statement  to  Mr.  Colman, 
(2>)  In  subsequent  interviews,  Frank  Knapp  revealed 

his  knowledge  of  the  murder  and  his  complicit}" 

in  it,  for 

(a)  He  called  the  privilege  of  turning  state's  evi- 

dence accorded  to  J.  J.  unfair,  as  the  thing 
was  done  for  his  benefit, 

(b)  He  said,  "  I  told  J.  J.  it  was  a  silly  business  and 

would  get  us  into  trouble," 


OUTLINE  OF  Webster's  argument.         361 

(c)  He  knew  the  dagger  had  been  destroyed, 

(d)  He  knew  who  had  committed  the  murder, 

(e)  He  knew  when  it  was  done, 

(f )  He  knew  where  the  ckib  was  hidden, 

(g)  He  went  home  after  the  murder, 

(g)  Mr.  Colman's  testimony  is  said  to  be  inconsistent 
with  his  subsequent  actions  ;  but 

(r)  His  inconsistent  conduct  is  all  in  favor  of  F.  Knapp 
and  shows  a  friendliness  to  him. 

D. 

CONCLUSION. 

I.     Summary  of  Inferences. 

The  following  conclusions  must  be  inferred  from  the 
circumstances  and  the  testimony  : 

A.  There  was  a  conspiracy  for  the  purpose  of 

committing  the  murder  ; 

B.  The  Crowninshields  and  the  Knapps  were 

parties  to  this  conspiracy  ; 

C.  The  prisoner  knew  that  the  murder  was  to 

be  committed  on  the  evening  of  April  6th  ; 

D.  The  murderers  of  Captain  AVhite  were  the 

suspicious  looking  persons  in  and  about 
Brown  and  Howard  Streets  that  night ; 

E.  Richard  Crowninshield  was  the  perpetrator 

of  that  crime  ; 

F.  The  prisoner  at  the  bar  was  on  Brown  Street 
that  night  ; 

Gr.  If  there,  he  was  there  by  agreement  with 
Crowninshield,  to  aid  the  perpetrator  ;  and 
if  so,  he  is  guilty  as  principal. 
II.  Address  to  the  Jury  : 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  jury  — 

A.  To  apply  the  law  as  delivered  by  the  court  ; 

B.  To  remember  the  safety  of  the  public,  as  well  as 

what  is  due  the  prisoner  ; 
C  To  decide  according  to  knowledge  and  conscience 
regardless  of  consequences. 


362  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 


OUTLIISTE   or  BURKE'S  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATIOK 
WITH   THE   AMERICAX   COLONIES. 

A. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1.  The  return  of  the  penal  bill  is  a  good  omen  ; 

2.  The  subject  is  grave  and  demands  fixed  opinions  ; 

3.  Parliament  has  changed  its  opinions  frequently  ;  lience 

4.  The  American  Colonies  are  kept  in  a  state  of  agitation  ; 

5.  Though  requested  to  fonnulate  a  scheme  of  government, 

I  hesitate,  for  I  doubt, — 
(a)  My  own  ability, 
(6)  The  value  of  government  on  paper. 

6.  I  consent,  for  I  believe  in, — 

(a)  The  character  and  judgment  of  the  English  people, 
(&)  The  efficacy  of  the  proi30sition,  which  is, 

7.  "  I  propose  peoce  with  the  Colonies  by  restoring  their 

former  confidence  in  the  mother  countr}'  "  ;  for 
(«)  This  is  better  than  refined  policy, 
(h)  Conciliation  has  already  been  declared  admissible  even 
without  submission  on  the  part  of  the  Colonies, 

(c)  The  principle  is  broad  enough, 

(d)  We,  the  superior  jDOwer,  ma}^  offer  it  with  safety  and 

honor  ; 

8.  This  proposition  raises  two  questions  ; 
(o)  Shall  we  concede  ? 

(h)  What  shall  the  concession  be  ? 

9.  To  determine  either,  it  is  necessary  to  examine  the  nature 

and  circumstances  of  these  colonies. 

B. 

DISCUSSION. 

First  :  —  Condition  of  American  Colonies. 

I.  Population  :  (a)  Population  is  already  large  ; 

{h)  It  is  very  rapidly  increasing  ;  hence 


BURKE    ON    CONCILIATION.  363 

(1)  It  will  admit  of  no  narrow  and  mean 
policy. 
II.  Commerce  :   1.    American  commerce  is  of   great  impor- 
tance to  us  ; 
(f()  Mr.  Glover's  calculations  have  shown 

this, 
(&)  An  exhibition  of  the  growth  of  ex- 
ports shows  it, 

(c)  American  trade  has  been  the  life  of 

all  our  trade, 

(d)  This  is  the  growth  of  sixty-eight  years, 

(e)  A  statement  of  imports  would  show 

the  same, 
(/)  Agricultural  products  are  of  immense 

value, 
(g)  Fishery    products    are    of    immense 

value  : 

A.  America,  then,  is  w^ell  worth  making  an  eifort   to 

retain. 

B.  But  fighting  America  is  not  the  best  way  to  retain 

her :  for 

1.  Force  is  only  a  temporary  means  ; 

2.  Force  is  an  uncertain  means  ; 

3.  Force  impairs  the  value  of  what  is  fought  for  ; 

4.  Force   is  out   of   our  experience  in  govern- 

ing colonies  ; 

5.  Force  cannot  be  used  successfully  against  the 

American  people  ;  for 
III.  Character  :  (a)  They  are  ardent  lovers  of  liberty,  because 

(a)  They  are  descendants  of  EngHshmen, 

and  possess  English  traits, 

(1)  They  emigrated  when  the  spirit  of 

liberty  was  highest, 

(2)  The  English  were  always  tender 

on  taxation, 

(3)  The  Colonies  are  tender  on  the 

same  point, 

(b)  Their  form  of  legislature  fosters  liberty, 


364  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENT ATION. 

(c)  Religion  in  the  Xortli  fosters  liberty, 

(1)  They  are  Protestants,  and 

(2)  They  are  mainly  dissenters  from 

the  Church  of  England. 

(d)  The  presence  of  slavery  in  the  South 

fosters  the  spirit  of  liberty  among 
'  the  free, 

(e)  Their  education,  sjDecially  in  law,  fos- 

ters the  spirit  of  liberty, 

(f)  Their    distance    from    the    governing 

power  has  a  like  effect. 
(Recapitulation.) 
Second  :  —  Treatment  of  the  Colonies. 

C.  (Transition)  Something  must  be  done  with  their  spirit 
of  liberty,  at  once,  or  we  shall  lose  the  Colonies  :  for 

1.  Every  recurrence    of   trouble  increases   intracta- 

bility ; 

2.  They  have  shown  their  independence  of  us  ; 

3.  They  have  organized  satisfactory  governments, 
(a)  Lord  Dunsmore's  report  is  authority  ; 

4.  Massachusetts  has  found  anarchy  tolerable  ; 

5.  Our  present  treatment  only  depreciates  the  value 

of  freedom. 
JD.  The  colonies  cannot  be  given  up  :  for 

1.  This  proposal  met  no  supjDort  in  i^arliament. 
E.  The  spirit  of  the  Colonies  cannot  be  changed  as  in- 
convenient by  removing  the  causes  :  for 
1.  It  would  be  attended  with  great  difficulties,  if  not 
impossibilities  ;  because 
(a)  Stopping  of  grants  of  land  would  not  do  it, 

(a)  The    Colonists  would    occupy  unsettled 

land  alread}^  granted, 

(b)  They  would  occupy  without  grants, 
(1)  They  have  alread}'  done  so, 

(c)  They  would  become  dangerous  to  English 

settlements,  and  officers, 

(d)  It  would  contradict  our  national  policy, 
(&)  Impoverishing  the  Colonies  would  not  do  it,  for 


BURKE   ON    CONCILIATION.  365 

(a)  It  will  render  them  unserviceable  to  us, 

(b)  AiTQS  would  still  be  their  recourse, 

(c)  It  would  necessitate  falsifying  their  pedigree, 
(^)  It  would  necessitate  changing  their  religion, 
(e)  It  would  necessitate  destroying  their  intelli- 
gence, 
(/)  It  would  be  necessary  to  annihilate  their  legis- 
lature, 
{(j)  It  would  involve  freeing  slaves,  and 

(a)  These,  armed,  might  fight  us, 

(b)  It  would  stoj)  our  slave  trade, 

(/i)  It  would  involve  pumiDing  the  ocean  dry. 

F.  This  spirit  cannot  well  be  prosecuted  as  criminal :  for 

1.  It  would  be  putting  communities  on  a  level  with 

individuals  ; 

2.  There  is  no  provision  for  indicting  communities  ; 

3.  It  would  call  any  stat'es  claim  of  privilege  treason  ; 

4.  It  would  make  one  of  the  parties  judge  in  the 

case  ; 

5.  This  method  has   already  been   tried   and  aban- 

doned ; 
(«)  Kebellion  was  declared  in  Massachusetts  Bay, 
(6)  No  proceedings  have  been  instituted  ; 

6.  All  our  attempts  in  this  direction  have  been  dis- 

mal failures : 

There  is,  therefore,  but  one  other  possibility, 

which  is 

G.  The  sjDirit  of  the  Colonies  must  be  complied  with  as 

necessary,  perhaps  as  a  necessary  evil :  for 

1.  This  will  conciliate  them  ;  for 

(a)  It  involves  concession  of  what  they  demand, 
—  "no  taxation  without  representation  ;  " 

2.  Ignoring  the  question  of  our  right,  it  is  our  best 

policy  ; 

3.  It  will  restore  tranquillity,  by 

(a)  Giving  the  colonies  part  in  the  constitution, 
(J))    Giving  them  our  assurance  of   fairness  and 
fidelity  ; 


366  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AKGUMENTATION. 

4.  It  is  necessary  •  for 

(a)  The  satisfaction  of  the  Colonies, 
(6)  Our  own  dignity  and  consistenc)^ ; 

5.  The  moderate  anti-concessionists   hope  no  good 

from  taxation. 
Objection  :  If  this  concession  is  made,  the  Colonies  will  attack 

the  trade-laws; 
Refutation  :  It  is  confessed  that  trade-laws  are  of  no  use  ; 

(«)  Pernicious  tax-laws,  then,  merely  guard  use- 
less trade-laws, 
(&)  Trade-laws  are  not  useless  but  they  are  not 
in  the  case, 

(c)  The  quarrel  is  on  taxation, 

(d)  To  prove  a  quarrel  against  trade-laws,  tax-laws 

must  be  repealed, 

(e)  To  sustain  tax-laws  thus  would  be  to  punish 

for  our  conjectures, 
(/)  This  objection  and  all  others  are  conjectures 
in  defiance  of  fact  and  experience  ; 

6.  Concession  and  conciliation  are  enforced  by  four 

capital  examples  ;  —  the  cases  of  Ireland,  Wales 
Chester  and  Durham  ; 

(a)  IN'ot  English  arms  but  the  English  constitu- 

tion conquered  Ireland, 

(a)  Its  vital  principle  of  free  government  is 

intact, 

(b)  It  has  always  assessed  its  own  taxes, 

(c)  Its  grants  are  a  source  of  wealth  to  Eng- 

land, 

(b)  England  attempted  to  govern  Wales  by  force, 

and  failed,  the  Border  being  in  perpetual 
alarm, 

(a)  The  same  restrictions  upon  liberty  were 

imposed,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Colonies, 

(b)  The  result  was  vexation  and  violence, 

(c)  Kepresentation   in    parliament  was  con- 

ferred, 

(d)  The  result  was  peace,  order,  harmony, 


BURKE    ON   CONCILIATION.  367 

(c)  Chester  was  without  rights,  and  turbulent, 

(a)  It   petitioned    for    liberty,    which    was 

granted,  and 

(b)  Wrongs  were  redressed,  and  anarchy  be- 

came obedience, 
(fZ)  Durham  was  without  free  legislation,  and  re- 
bellious, 

(a)  It  petitioned  for  redress,  and 

(b)  The   concession    of   the   principle  now 

at  stake,  "  no  taxation  without  repre- 
sentation "  secured  peace  ; 
7.  Americans  are  better  fitted  in  every  way  to  re- 
ceive a  part  in  constitutional  rights  ; 
(a)  They  are  English  and  speak  our  language, 
(6)  They  are  more  numerous,  tenfold, 

(c)  Their  spirit  is  less  fierce  and  intractable, 

(d)  Objection  :  Our  legislation  is  perfect  for  them, 

(e)  Answer  :  So  it  was  for  Ireland,  Wales,  Chester 

and  Durham,  and  failed, —  virtual  represen- 
tation was  not  enough. 
Objection  :  Actual,  direct  representation  is  impracticable  ; 
Answer  :  8.  We  may  find  an  equivalent  in  a  substitute, 

(a)  (General)  Let  the  Colonies  be  treated  accord- 
ing to  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution, 
(h)   (Specific)   Let  them  vote  aid  to  the  mother 
country  instead  of  submitting  to  a  tax  im- 
posed by  her. 
Third  :  — Mesolutions. 

The  resolutions  state  facts  which  if  conceded  will  insure 
peace  and  the  obedience  of  the  Colonies. 
I.  Resolutions  proper  : — 

1.  The  Colonies  have  had  no  representation  in  par- 

liament ; 
(a)  This  resolution  is  the  language  of  the  act  of 
parliament ; 

2.  The  Colonies  have  been  taxed  by  parliament,  often 

to  their  disadvantaore  ; 


368  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

(«)  This  resolution  is  (lie  language  of  the  act  of 

parliament, 
(6)  The  words  of  grievance  are  justified,  for 

(a)  Parliament  has  conceded  it  by  repeal  laws, 

(b)  It  is  conceded  by  Lord  ^N'orth's  Eesolu- 

tion  ; 

3.  Xo  means  of  representation  has  been  devised  for 

the  Colonies  ; 

4.  The  Colonies  have  legally  constituted  assemblies 

competent   to  assess  and  collect  taxes  for  all 

public  expenses  ; 
(a)  The  whole  tenor  of  their  acts  shows  this, 
(h)  The  language  of  their  grants  shows  this, 
(c)   If  they  were  not  comi:>etent,  the  ministers  are 
impeachable  ; 

5.  The  Colonies  have  often  made  generous  grants  to 

the  Crown,  which  have  been  accepted  ;  for 
(a)  The  records  of  the  Indian  wars  show  this, 
(6)  The  records  of  foreign  wars  show  it, 
(c)   Eesolutions  reimbursing  them  are  on  record, 

(a)  April  4, 1748, 

(b)  January  28, 1756, 

(c)  Man}^  others, 

(f7)  The  journals  say  nothing  on  revenue  by  impo- 
sition ; 

6.  Experience    shows  the  wisdom  of  allowing  the 

Colonies  to  grant  us  supplies  and   aid  instead 
of  our  imposing  them  : 
H.  Every    alternative    to    allowing   the    Colonies   their 
share  in  our  constitution  is  removed,  and 
(Conclusion)  1.  You  must  abandon  theory  and  abide  by  ex- 
perience ; 

2.  They  must  be  granted  the  full  right  of  legisla- 

tion ; 

3.  Peace  must  be  secured  by  conciliation. 
II.  Corollaries  :  — 

1.  The  Boston  Port  Bill  —  and  like  obnoxious  legis- 
lation —  must  be  repealed  ; 


BURKE    ON    CONCILIATION. 


369 


(a)  It  is  a  dangerous  precedent, 
(6)  It  was  passed  irregularly  ; 
2.  The  charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  must  be 


restored  ; 


3. 


The  Act  for  bringing  Americans  to  England  for 
trial  must  be  repealed. 

4.  It  will  be  proper  to  secure  to  the  Colonies  fair 

courts  of  law  ; 

5.  It  will  be  proper  to  regulate  the  Courts  of  Admir- 

alty ;  for 
(a)  They  are  incommodiously  situated, 
(6)  They  partake  in  the  fruits  of  their  own  con- 
demnation. 
III.   Objections  refuted  :  — 

1.  The  Resolutions  prove  too  much,  and  go  to  the 

whole  matter  of  legislation  ; 
Answer  :    (a)  The  grievance  is  expressed  in  the  words  of  an 
act  of  parliament,  not  mine, 
(h)  The  inferences  drawn  are  not  mine, 

(c)  The  grievance  coincides  exactly  with  the  case 

of  the  Colonies, 

(d)  The  colonists  demand  only  what  is  reasonable, 

(e)  Government  is  founded  on  compromise, 

(/)  Possible  loss  as  well  as  gain  must  be  considered, 
((/)  Colonies  will  respect  our  legislation  when  it  is 
their  security  ; 

2.  This  concession  to  the  Colonies  would  dissolve  the 

unity  of  the  empire  ; 
Answer  :    (a)  This  unity  is  an  unheard  of  thing, 

(6)  Any  subordination  of  parts  excludes  unity, 
(c)  England  cannot  be  head  and  members  too, 
(f?)  There  will  still  remain  the  same  unity  as  is 
present  with  England,  Ireland,  Wales,  Ches- 
ter and  Durham  ; 

3.  Lord  Xortli  proposed  to  free  from  taxation  any 

Colony  which  shoidd  guarantee  an  amount  satis- 
isfactory  to  the  mother  country.  Sec,  she  being 
judge  ; 


370  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUIMENTATION. 

Answer  :  (a)  This  proposition   is   a   mere  project,  lacking 
(a)  reason,  (b)  experience,  (c)  analogy,  (d) 
root  in  the  Constitution, 
(6)  It  will  be  fatal  to  the  Constitution, 

(a)  Lord  Xorth  must  still  settle  the  quota 

of  each  Colony, 

(b)  You  can  neither  add  nor  alter, 

(c)  It  does  not  satisfy  the  complaint  of  the  Col- 
onies, 

(a)  It  gives  the  same  grievance  for  a  remedy, 

(b)  You  would  object  to  some  sources  of  rev- 

enue, 
(fZ)  It  will  plunge  you  into  great  difficulties, 

(a)  Colony  agents   could    not  have  general 

power,  and 

(b)  Attempts  at  settlement  would  end  in  con- 

fusion, 

(c)  You  must  burden  the  innocent  with  the 

guilty  or  for  them, 

(d)  If  you   settle   a  permanent  contingent, 

you  have  no  revenue, 

(e)  If  you  change  the  quota,  you  have  a  new 

quarrel, 

(e)  The  object  of  the  proposal  is  destruction  to 
the  Colonies,  not  advantage  to  ourselves, 

(/)  A  comparison  of  Lord  North's  proposal  with 
the  proposal  of  conciliation  by  conceding  to 
the  Colonies  the  privilege  of  taxing  them- 
selves, shows  all  the  advantages  to  be  on  the 
side  of  the  latter. 

C. 

CONCLUSION. 

4.  The  financier  objects,  that  the   concession  will 
give  us  peace,  but  it  will  give  us  no  revenue  ; 
Answer  :  (a)  It  will  give  the  Colonies  the  power  of  refusal  of 
taxes, 
(h)  This  is  the  mightiest  of  all  sources  of  revenue, 


BURKE    ON    CONCILIATION.  371 

(a)  Our  exiDcrience  proves  this, 

(b)  All  men  desire  the  honor  and  glory  of 

their  country, 

(c)  Government    thus    becomes    the    stake- 

holder of  parties, 

(d)  This   encourages   instead   of   destroying 

generosity, 

(e)  Xo  revenue  can  be  gotten  from  Amer- 

ica by  compulsion, 

(f)  The  strongest  of  ties  is  the  association 

of   civil  rights  with  the  prosperity  of 
government, 

(g)  The  love  of  the  English  people  is  the  life 

of  the  English  nation, 
(h)  Magnanimity  in  politics  is  the  truest  wis- 
dom ; 
I.  An  American  revenue  must  be  secured  as  American  em- 
pire has  been  secured,  by  the  granting  of  English  privi- 
leges. 
(Proposition  proved). 
As  the  American  Colonies  have  no  representation  in  Parlia- 
ment, they  must  be  conciliated  by  conceding  to  them  the 
privilege  of  levying  their  own  taxes. 


372  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 


OUTLINE  OF  HUXLEY'S  THREE  LECTURES  0:N' 
EVOLUTION. 

A. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1.  Man's  conception  of  the  nature  of  things  has  been  of  slow 

growth  ; 

2.  The  constancy  of  the  order  of  nature  is  now  the  dominant 

idea  ; 
(a)  All  events  are  based  on  cause  and  effect, 
(6)  All  notion  of  chance  is  excluded, 

(c)  All  human  calculations  are  based  upon  it, 

(d)  The  basis  is  completely  logical ; 

3.  This  notion  of  constancy  does  not  extend  into  the  past ; 

4.  Whether  events  always  happened  in  this  fixed  order,  is  a 

historical  question  ;  its  answer  must  be  sought  in  the 
same  way  as  the  answer  to  other  historical  questions. 

B. 

DISCUSSION. 

I.  The  case  stated  :  — 

1.  There  are  three  hj'potheses  for  the  histoiy  of  nature  ; 
(«)  The  universe  has  always  existed  in  its  present 

condition, 

(/')  The  universe  came  into  existence  without  any 
precedent  condition  from  which  it  could  natur- 
ally have  23roceeded, 

(c)  The  present  universe  has  been  evolved  by  a 
natural  process,  from  an  antecedent  state,  that 
from  another,  and  so  on  ;  no  limit  can  be  as- 
signed to  past  changes. 

2.  These  hypotheses  mean  :  — 

(«)  An  observer,  no  matter  how  far  back,  would  have 
seen  the  earth  as  it  now  is  —  animals,  plants, 
mountains,  plains,  waters.  This  is  not  incon- 
sistent with  uniformitarianism. 


Huxley's  three  lectures.  373 

(h)  An  observer  would,  at  a  period  not  remote,  have 
seen  chaos,  then  the  various  parts  coming  into 
being  in  six  natural  daj's  in  the  following  order, 
—  light,  sky  or  firmament,  vegetation,  heavenly 
bodies,  aquatic  animals  and  birds,  quadrupeds 
and  mab.  This  is  Milton's  theory  in  Paradise 
Lost. 

(c)  An  observer  would,  at  any  late  period,  have  seen 
a  state  of  things  similar  to  the  present,  the 
likeness  becoming  less  and  less  as  the  period 
of  observation  is  remote  from  the  present : 
the  distribution  of  mountains,  plains,  lakes, 
would  change  according  to  a  slow  natural  pro- 
cess ;  the  framework  of  the  earth  would  be  at 
a  very  remote  period  only  a  nebulous  mass  ; 
the  forms  of  life  would  grow  simpler  and  sim- 
pler, presenting  in  the  earliest  stages,  undif- 
ferentiated protoplasmic  matter.  This  hypothe- 
sis presupposes  no  breach  of  continuity.  All  is 
produced  by  a  natural  process. 
II.  The  evidence  stated  :  — 

1.  A  Priori  evidence  cannot  be  used  ;  for 

(a)  This  is  a  matter  of  historical  fact,  not  involving 
cause  or  motive  ; 

2.  It  must  be  settled  by  historical  evidence,  which  is  of 

two  kinds  ; 
(«)  Testimony,  the  report  of  witnesses, 
(h)  Circumstantial  evidence,  the  testimony  of  other 
things  than  human  witnesses  ; 

3.  Circumstantial  evidence,  when  clear  and  intelligible, 

is  stronger  than  testimony  ;  for 
(a)  It  is  impossible  to  falsify  it  in  this  case, 
(6)  It  cannot  be  mistaken  in  this  case, 

(c)  Human  testimony  is  open  to  many  doubts, 

(d)  Even  accurate  men  are  easily  mistaken, 

(e)  Witnesses  are  actuated  by  evil  motives, 
III.   The  case  argued  :  — 

1.  The  first,  or  "  Eternity,"  hypothesis  is  incapable  of 
verification  by  any  evidence  ;  for 


374  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUJMENTATION. 

(a)  Its  verification  would  demand  an  eternity  of  wit- 
nesses, 

(&)  Its  verification  would  require  an  infinit}^  of  cir- 
cumstances, 

(c)  Neither  of  these  is  attainable  ; 
2,  Wliat  evidence  there  is  is  against  it ;  for 

(a)  The  earth's  crust  is  composed  of  laj^ers  gradually 
fomied, 

(a)  They  are  like  those  forming  at  present, 

(b)  The}'  contain  fossils  of  life,  extinct  and  ex- 

isting, 

(5)  The  strata  of  the  earth's  crust  furnish  a  record  of 

a  gradually  changing  life  on  the  earth, 
(c)  The  strata  show  that  the  present  condition  of 
things  is  of  only  recent  existence  : 
A.  The  first  hj^pothesis  must  be  abandoned. 

1.  Explanatory.     The  second  is  call-ed  the  "  Miltonic  " 

hj'iDothesis   rather   than   the    "  Doctrine   of   Crea- 
tion," or  the  "  Biblical  Doctrine,"  or  the  "  Mosaic 
Doctrine  ; "  because 
(o)  It  is  an  historical  not  a  doctrinal  or  philosophical 
cjuestion, 
(a)  It  means  hoic,  not  u-Jn/  things  came  to  be  as 
the}'  are, 

(6)  The  Bible  does  not  necessarity  sanction  it, 

(a)  Our  notion  is  traceable  to  Milton's  poem, 

(b)  Scientists  interpret  the  Bible  differently, 

(c)  Many  Biljlical  scholars  explain  it  differently, 

(d)  The  Bible  may  sanction  evolution, 

(c)  There  is  no  evidence  that  Moses  wrote  the  account 

in  Genesis, 

(a)  This  is  the  opinion  of  eminent  clergymen, 

(b)  This  is  the  opinion  of  Hebrew  scholars, 

(d)  Milton  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  his  meaning  ; 

2.  Only  circumstantial  evidence  will  be  used  in  examin- 

ing this  hypothesis  ;  for 
(a)  Testimonial  evidence  is  incompetent, 

(a)  Scholars  disagree  as  to  its  authenticity  ; 


Huxley's  three  lectures.  375 

Circumstantial  evidence  does  not  justify  the  hypothe- 
sis, but  so  far  as  it  goes,  contradicts  it  ; 

(a)  Milton  asserts  that  plants  made  their  appear- 

ance the  third  day, —  so  that  there  must 
have  been  plants  like  the  present,  for  if  not 

(1)  Either    special    creation    has    occurred 

since,  or 

(2)  Evolution  has  taken  place  in  the  plant 

world, 

(b)  Milton  asserts  that  animal  life,  aquatic  and 

aerial,  appeared  on  the  fifth  day,  terrestrial 
quadrupeds  and  man  on  the  sixth  day,  — 

(c)  But  remains  of  animal  life  are  found  in  the 

oldest  strata  of  the  earth's  crust, — these 
must  therefore  have  been  the  products  of 
the  fifth  day's  creation, 
((()  There  is  therefore  no  geological  record  of  the  first 
four  Miltonic  days, 

(a)  Milton's   order  of   creation   is,  —  fishes  and 

whales,  birds,  terrestrial  animals, — 

(b)  But   terrestrial   animals   occur  long    before 

birds  in  the  geological  record, 
(h)  There  is  therefore  lack  of  harmony  in  the  two 
records,  so  far  as  they  exist, 

(a)  Milton  makes  fishes  and  whales  contempo- 

rary creations, 

(b)  Fishes  in  abundance  are  found  in  the  earlier 

strata,  but  no  whales, 
(c)   The  geological  record  contradicts  the  Miltonic, 
(a)  Xo  fishes  of  the  present  kind  are  found  in 
the  earlier  strata,  hence, 
(J)  Either  (i)  Special  creations  have  occurred  at  dif- 
ferent times,  of  which  there  is  no  record,  or 
(ii)  There  has  been  an  evolution  of  species,  or 
(iii)  The  whole  account  must  be  given  u])  as 
without  evidence  or  contrary  to  evidence, 
(e)   Circumstantial  evidence  further  (•«)ntra<licts  Mil- 
ton, for 


376  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

(a)  It  shows  the  jirocesses  of  creation  to  have 

been  of  incalculable  duration, 

(b)  It  shows   that  what   is    now  dry  land,  was 

once  the  bottom  of  the  sea, 

(1)  The  sides  of  mountains  are  like  the  bot- 

tom of  the  sea  at  present, 

(2)  Mountains  are  made  largel}^  of  the  same 

material, 

(c)  It  shows  that  changes  have  gone  on  gradually 

and  slowly,  with  no  discontinuance  of  na- 
ture's operations  : 
B.  The  second,  or  Miltonic  hypothesis  is  highly  improbable ; 
even  more,  it  is  clearly  negatived  by  the  evidence  at 
hand. 

1.  Explanatory. 

(a)  From  the  nature  of  the  third,  or  "  Evolution  "  hy- 
pothesis, testimonial  evidence  cannot  be  used, 
(h)  Three  kinds  of  evidence  Avill  be  used, 

(i)  One  is  neutral,  neither  helping  the  hypotlie- 

sis,  nor  inconsistent  with  it, 
(il)  One  raises  a  strong  iDrobabilit}',  but  does  not 

prove  it, 
(iii)  One  may  be  called  demonstrative  of  its  oc- 
currence, 

2.  Summary  of  what  has  so  far  been  shown,  and  repar- 

tition of  future  discussion. 

3.  Objection  :  The  hypothesis  of  evolution  is  untena])le  ; 

for 
(«)  Certain  Egj^ptian    mummied    animals,  of   4,000 
years  ago,  are  like  their  species  of  to-da}', 
(a)  This  is  the  case  with  dogs  brought  to  Eng- 
land ; 

4.  Answer  :  Four  thousand  years,  in  the  circumstances, 

is  too  short  a  period  ;  for 
(a)  The  change  in  animal  structure  depends  on  sur- 
rounding conditions,  and  the  surroundings  have 
not  changed, 
(a)  The  geograpliy  is  tlie  same  as  4,000  years  ago. 


Huxley's  three  lectures.  377 

(b)  The  flora  is  the  same, 

(c)  The  character  of  the  inhabitants  is  the  same, 
(h)  Other  instances  of  a  greater  time  required  are 

well  known  now, 

(a)  Animal  remains  are  found,  at  the  Whirlpool 

and  Goat  Island,  exactly  like  those  now 
in  Lake  Erie, 

(b)  These  must  have  been  deposited  30,000  years 

ago, 

(c)  Certain   chalk   forming    animals    have    not 

changed  for  a  still  longer  time, 

CD  The  Terebratula  and  > 

^,  ,  .       .  y  ^^'*i  111 

(2)  Globigerinte  > 

the  oldest  chalkbeds,  and  the  newest, 

(d)  Certain  fishes  —  Beryx  —  are  found  fossilized 

in  very  old  strata,  and  still  existing, 

(e)  Certain  present  molluscous  forms  are  found 

fossilized  in  the  very  oldest  strata, 

(f )  Examples  of  annual  life  in  the  Mesozoic  Age 

are  found  at  great  intervals,  unchanged, 
((')  These  facts  do  not  make  against  evolution,  unless 
it  assumes  continued  modification  or  modilica- 
tion  at  a  uniform  rate  ; 
5.  Persistent  forms  are  consistent  with  evolution  ;  for 
(a)  If  the  tendency  to  change  is  internal,  it  may  be 

checked, 
(h)  If  it  is  due  to  surroundings,  these  may  not  change  ; 
0.  Objection  :  Xo  lizards  are  found  before  the  Permian 
period  ;   those  of  that  period  are  like  the  present 
kind,  and  have  no  older  species  from  which  they 
are  descended  ; 
7.  Answer  :  The  geological  record  is  imperfect ; 
{<i)  It  is  destroyed  by  processes  of  denudation, 
(/>)  It  is  obliterated  ])y  processes  of  metamorphosis, 
(a)  Tracks  of  great  birds  are  found  in  strata  along 
the  Connecticut,  but  not  a  vestige  of  the 
birds  is  found, 
(]))  Sunds  often  preserve  a  mould  where  all  tlie 


378  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATIOX. 

solid  matter  has  been  destroyed  by  perco- 
lation ; 

8.  Objection  :  Evolution  implies  a  complete  series  from 

protoplasm  to  the  highest  animal  ;  no  such  com- 
pleteness exists  ;  there  is  no  link  l)etween  mammal 
and  bird,  between  bird  and  reptile,  between  rumi- 
nants and  pigs,  and  so  on  ;  absolute  breaks  occur 
all  along  the  line  ; 

9.  Answer:  These  gaps  may  not  always  have  existed; 

there  is  continually  increasing  evidence  to  show 
that  they  did  not ; 
(a)  Cuvier  discovered  what  seemed  a  link  between 

pigs  and  ruminants, 
(h)  Cuvier  discovered  an  apparent  link  between  ani- 
mals as  different  as  the  horse  and  the  rhinoce- 
ros and  the  tapir, 

(a)  The   Hesperornis,  lately  discovered,   differs 

from  all  existing  birds,  and  has  marked 
peculiarities  of  the  reptile, 
(1)  It  has  teeth, 

(b)  The  Ichthyornis  differs  from  all  other  birds 

in  like  resj^ect,  and  in  vertebne  bones, 

(c)  The  Archseopteryx  has  marked  elements  of 

the  bird  and  the  tail  of  the  reptile,  and 
the  bones  in  some  other  respects  more 
like  the  reptile  than  the  bird, 

(c)  These  may  have  been  intercalary  types,  between 

what  led  l)ack  to  reptiles  and  what  led  forward 
to  birds, 

(d)  The  Ornithoscelida  was  probably  in  the  linear 

series, 

(a)  Their  limbs  conform  to  those  of  the  ostrich, 

(b)  The  sacrum  resembles  that  of  birds, 

(c)  The  pelvis  is  very  like  that  of  birds, 

(e)  If  the  Compsognathus  had  had  feathers,  it  might 

have  been  classed  as  reptilian  bird  or  avian 
reptile. 


Huxley's  three  lectures.  379 

(/)  Possibly  this  is  the  animal  type  whose  tracks  are 
found  along  the  Connecticut ; 

10.  These  intercalary  forms  indicate  how  birds  might  have 

developed  indirectly  from  reptiles,  if  there  is  other 
positive  evidence  of  evolution  ; 

11.  The  probability  is  strengthened,  by  a  study  of   the 

Pterosauria  ; 
(«)  Bones  contain  air  cavities, 
(&)  Teeth  are  absent, 

(c)  Wings  are  wholly  unlike  those  of  birds,  yet  made 
for  flight ; 

12.  Question  :  Is  the  evidence  of  the  evolution  of  animals 

so  cogent  as  to  make  it  in  the  highest  degree  doubt- 
ful that  evolution  did  not  take  place  ? 

(a)  Such  evidence  has  been  constantly  increasing, 

(b)  Such  evidence  must  be  sought  under  proper  phys- 

ical conditions, 

(c)  The  history  of  the  horse  affords  the  most  nearly 

perfect  evidence, 

(a)  The  horse  at  present  is  the  most  perfect  of 

quadrupeds, 

(1)  It  is   beautifully  and    skillfully  propor- 

tioned, 

(2)  Its  parts  are  perfectly  adjusted  to  its 

duties, 

(3)  It  can  do  the  greatest  amount  of  work 

on  the  least  fuel, 

(b)  The  horse  deviates  most  Avidely  from  other 

mammals, 

(1)  In  the  number  and  conformation  of  the 

bones  of  the  legs, 

(2)  In  the   number   and    conformation    of 

digits, 
(8)  In   the    number   and    conformation    of 
teeth, 

(c)  The   theory  of   evolution   implies   that   the 

horse  is  derived  from  a  type  of  quadru- 
ped having, 


380  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

(1)  Bones  of  forearm  and  leg  separate  and 

complete, 

(2)  Five  digits  on  each  foot, 

(3)  Forty-four  teeth  of  simple  structure, 
(d)  The  history  of  the  horse  shows  this  develop- 
ment, the  specimens  found  between  the 
Eocene  Period  and  the  recent  period  show- 
ing all  the  stages, 

(1)  These  specimens  are  froni  different  parts 

of  Euroi)e  and  America, 

(2)  A  complete  set  can  be  seen  in  the  Mu- 

seum of  Yale  College, 

(3)  M.  Lartet  has  arrived  at  this  conclusion, 

independently,  from  the  same  data  ; 

13.  An  inductive  hypothesis  is  said  to  be  demonstrated,  if 

the  facts  are  shown  to  be  in  entire  accordance  with  it; 
the  facts  in  the  history  of  the  horse  are  in  accord- 
ance with  the  evolution  (an  inductive)  hypothesis  : 
(7.  The  evolution  hypothesis  is  demonstrated. 

14.  The  evolution  theory  is  on  the  same  logical  basis,  as 

the  Copernican  theory  of  the  heavens  ;  the  observed 
facts  coincide  with  theoretical  requirements  ; 

15.  The  only  escape  is  the  theory  of  special  creations  at 

different  periods,  and  there  can  be  no  scientific  evi- 
dence of  this  ; 

16.  The  question  is  only  as  to  the  method  of  evolution, 

not  as  to  the  time  required  ;  that  is  to  be  settled  by 
geologists  and  physicists. 

C. 

Conclusion. 

1.  The  purpose  of  the  argument  was  to  set  forth, — 
(a)  The  principles  upon  which   all   hypotheses   re- 
specting the  history  of  nature  must  be  judged, 

(6)  The  nature  and  cogency  of  evidence  to  be  ob- 
tained upon  it ; 

2.  I  have  considered  the  audience  as  students,  desiring 

truth ; 


Huxley's  theee  lectures.  381 

3.  I  shall  be  satisfied  if  you  now  see  that  this  matter  re- 

quires the  keen  attention  of  trained  intellect,  and 
the  patience  of  the  accurate  observer  ; 

4.  Your  attention  and  courtesy  have  made  me  forget  that 

I  am  a  stranger,  and  are  considered  the  greatest  com- 
pliment that  can  be  accorded  to  one  in  my  position. 


382  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION^. 


PEOPOSITIONS   FOR   ARGUMENT   OR   DEBATE. 

1.  Self-made  men  are  the  strongest  men. 

2.  Temperance  is  a  duty  of  the  young. 

3.  The  lecture  system  of  instruction  is  preferable  to  the  text- 

book system. 

4.  The  age  demands  industrial  education. 

5.  Political  parties  are  a  necessity  to  free  government. 

6.  Electricity  will  supersede  all  ordinary  motors. 

7.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  public  to  educate  the  masses. 

8.  Scientific  education  is  preferable  to  classical  education. 

9.  The  average  age  of  man  is  increasing. 

10.  Current  literature  is  more  profitable  reading  than  classic 

literature. 

11.  The  West  will  eventually  govern  the  United  States. 

12.  Senators  should  be  elected  by  popular  vote. 

13.  Postmasters  should  be  elected  by  popular  vote. 

14.  The  Norsemen  discovered  America. 

15.  Vivisection  is  justifiable. 

16.  The  German  university  methods  should  be  adopted   in 

America. 

17.  A  more  restricted  immigration  would  be  to  the  best  in- 

terests of  the  United  States. 

18.  Canada  should  be  annexed  to  the  United  States. 

19.  Hard  work  is  the  secret  of  success. 

20.  Agriculture  is  a  desirable  occupation. 

21.  An  independent  business  is  preferable  to  a  salaried  posi- 

tion. 

22.  Chicago  will  be  the  national  capital. 

23.  Public  life  is  attended  with  great  danger  to  moral  char- 

acter. 

24.  Physiology  should  be  taught  in  the  common  schools. 

25.  The  common  schools  should  teach  patriotism. 

26.  Education  is  a  good  business  investment. 

27.  Good  manners  are  a  profitable  possession. 

28.  Richard  III.  was  a  greater  villain  than  lago. 


PKOPOSITIOXS.  383 

29.  A  soft  answer  turnetli  away  wrath. 

30.  National  holidays  are  a  national  blessing. 

31.  Freedom  of  the  j^ress  is  necessary  in  a  free  country. 

32.  America  needs  a  national  "  Westminster  Abbey." 

33.  Monopolies  are  an  evil  to  be  suppressed  by  law. 

34.  Political  rings  are  opposed  to  pure  government. 

35.  Women  should  have  the  right  to  vote. 

36.  Public  libraries  should  be  supported  at  public  expense. 

37.  Law  is  a  better  profession  than  medicine. 

38.  Traveling  is  the  best  means  of  education. 

39.  Human  friendships    are  better   than   the   friendship    of 

books. 

40.  War  is  always  inexpedient. 

41.  Arbitration  is  the  best  method  of  settling  disputes. 

42.  Strikes  are  justifiable. 

43.  Strikes  have  been  advantageous  to  the  strikers. 

44.  The  ''  Coxe}^  movement"  ^vas  justifiable. 

45.  The  government  should  ow^n  and  operate  the  telegraph. 

46.  The  government  should  own  and  operate  the  railroads. 

47.  With  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you 

again. 

48.  AVomen  should  receive  the  same  w^ages  as  men  for  the 

same  labor. 

49.  Coeducation  is  preferable  to  separate  education  of  men 

and  w^omen. 

50.  Language  study  is  more  difficult  than  science  study. 

51.  The  newspaper  is  the  great  popular  educator. 

52.  The  practical  man  is  the  most  useful  man. 

53.  Oratoiy  is  declining. 

54.  Mixed  husbandry  is  more  profitable  than  special  farming. 

55.  Manual  training  has  an  intellectual  value. 

5G.  The  Indians  have  been  treated  unjustly  by  the  United 
States  Government. 

57.  Lincoln  was  a  greater  statesman  than  Washington. 

58.  English  literature  excels  all  others. 

59.  There  will  be  no  more  wars. 

60.  World's  Fairs  are  a  great  means  of  education. 

61.  The  classic  theatre  is  a  valuable  means  of  education. 


384  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMEN'TATIOn! 

62.  Football  as  played  at  present  is  too  dangerous  to  be  en- 

couraged. 

63.  College  sports  are  a  benefit  to  both  students  and  colleges. 

64.  Self-government  is  the  best  government  for  students. 

65.  Moses  was  a  great  leader. 

66.  The  aggregate  moral  influence  of  woman  is  greater  than 

that  of  man. 

67.  Free  trade  has  been  a  benefit  to  Great  Britain. 

68.  High  schools  are  to  be  maintained  at  public  expense. 

69.  Denominational  schools  and  colleges  are  a  necessity. 

70.  Greater  uniformity  in  English  orthography  should  be  ef- 

fected. 

71.  The  English  government  is  responsible  for  Irish  discon- 

tent. 

72.  Mary  Stuart  was  unjustly  executed. 

73.  The  Isthmus  Canal  should  be  owned  by  America. 

74.  Candidates  for  office  should  pay  campaign  expenses. 

75.  The  inventor  has  a  right  to  his  invention. 

76.  Cremation  will  supersede  earth-burial. 

77.  College  sports  are  a  detriment  to  good  scholarship. 

78.  Adversity  strengthens  character. 

79.  The  study  of  poetry  purifies  and  elevates  the  mind. 

80.  Macaulay  is  an  untrustworthy  historian. 

81.  A  city  is  a  better  place  for  a  college,  than  a  village  or  the 

country. 

82.  Charles  Dickens'  novels  effected  reforms. 

83.  Dancing  is  a  proper  social  amusement. 

84.  Early  marriages  should  be  encouraged. 

85.  Enthusiasm  is  essential  to  success. 

86.  A  classical  education  is  the  best  preparation  for  a  literary 

career. 

87.  Agriculture  is  necessary  to  civilization. 

88.  The  character  of  the  Pilgrims  was  like  that  of  the  Puritans. 

89.  Kefined  surroundings  develop  refined  character. 

90.  Christian  morality  will  final]}'  prevail. 

91.  A  protective  tariff  is  a  national  benefit. 

92.  Improved  labor-saving  machinery  has  been  an  advantage 

to  the  laborer. 


PROPOSITIONS.  385 

93.  The  principle  of  prohibition  is  correct. 

94.  Prohibitory  laws  are  just  and  expedient. 

95.  The  spoils  system  is  an  evil  to  be  abolished. 

96.  Appointments  to  government  places   should  be  on  ex- 

amination. 

97.  State  institutions  for  higher  education  should  be  com- 

bined. 

98.  The  American  scholars  should  control  American  politics. 

99.  The  reading  of  standard  novels  is  profitable. 

100.  The  study  of  the  sciences  is  a  means  of  culture  and  refine- 

ment. 

101.  The  execution  of  John  Brown  was  just. 

102.  The  banishment  of  the  Acadians  was  unjust. 

103.  Goldsmith's  poetry  was  a  blessing  to  literature. 

104.  Education  is  the  conservator  of  liberty. 

105.  Climate  influences  character. 

106.  Capital  jDunishment  should  be  abolished. 

107.  Poetry  is  a  national  power. 

108.  Action  is  the  test  of  character. 

109.  Sincerity  is  essential  to  success. 

110.  Employment  is  essential  to  intellectual  health. 

111.  The  study  of  the  natural  sciences  has  a  moral  influence. 

112.  Loyalty  to  principle  is  an  advantage  to  the  iiolitician. 

113.  Satire  is  incompatible  with  poetry. 

114.  James  McPherson  wrote  the  poems  which  he  attributed 

to  Ossian. 

115.  Bacon  wrote  the  plays  attributed  to  Shakespeare. 

116.  It  is  policy  to  be  polite. 

117.  Prejudice  is  a  hindrance  to  progress. 

118.  The  power  of  imagination  is  necessary  to  the  discoverer. 

119.  Hamlet  was  insane. 

120.  The  successful  orator  must  be  a  man  of  upright  character. 

121.  Controversy  contributes  to  progress. 

122.  Good  manners  are  necessary  to  business  success. 

123.  The  development  of  a  national  literature  indicates  national 

progress. 

124.  Puritan  excellencies  predominated  over  Puritan  eccentric- 

ities. 


386  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUME^'TATION. 

125.  Capital  and  labor  will  always  be  at  war. 

126.  Beauty  has  jiractical  uses. 

127.  Brutus  ivas  an  honorable  man. 

128.  Luxuries  become  necessities. 

129.  Limited  suffrage  is  better  than  unrestricted  suffrage. 

130.  Eight  hours  should  legally  constitute  a  day's  work. 
13L  Free  trade  is  necessary  to  general  prosperity. 

132.  Church  property  should  be  exempt  from  taxation. 

133.  Military  tactics  should  be  taught  in  the  public  schools. 

134.  Communism  is  opposed  to  the  best  interests  of  society. 

135.  Common  school  education  should  be  compulsory. 

136.  A  young  man  should  choose  a  profession  before  taking  a 

college  course. 

137.  Cardinal  Wolsey's  ambition  was  his  ruin. 

138.  Macbeth' s  ambition,  not  his  wife,  was  his  ruin. 

139.  The  practice  of  economy  is  a  universal  duty. 

140.  There  should  be  an  international  copyright  law. 

141.  The  reading  of  Byron's  poetiy  tends  to  immorality. 

142.  He  who  would  control  others,  must  be  able  to  control  him- 

self. 

143.  Newspapers  are  more  powerful  than  armies. 

144.  Homer  has  exerted  a  greater  influence  than  Alexander. 

145.  TJnde  Toiii's  Cabin  did  much  toward  abolishing  slavery. 

146.  Education  is  a  greater  power  in  the  temperance  cause, 

than  is  legislation. 

147.  Centralization  of  power  is  dangerous  to  free  government. 

148.  The  election  of  studies  is  preferable  to  following  a  pre- 

scribed course. 

149.  Self-preservation  is  always  a  first  duty. 

150.  A  pure  ballot  is  necessar}^  to  pure  government. 

151.  All  labor  is  dignified. 

152.  The  licensing  of  lotteries  by  the  State  should  be  prohibited 

by  law. 

153.  Delegates  and  representatives  should  obey  the  instructions 

.  of  their  constituencies. 

154.  The  endowing  of  Experiment  Stations  was  a  wise  move- 

ment. 


PROPOSITIONS.  387 

155.  Tenure  of  office  should  be  during  competence  and  good 

behavior. 

156.  Cooperation  of  capital  and  labor  is  desirable  and  practic- 

able. 

157.  Partisan  control  is  detrimental  to  educational  institutions. 

158.  A  meat  diet  is  preferable  to  a  vegetable  diet. 

159.  A  national  income  tax  is  a  proper  source  of  revenue. 

160.  Aerial  navigation  will  be  made  practicable. 

161.  The  study  of  English  classics  affords  as  much  culture  as 

the  study  of  ancient  classics. 

162.  The  present  condition  of  the  earth  is  the  result  of  evolu- 

tion. 

163.  The  Chinese  must  be  kept  out  of  America. 

164.  High  license  will  do  more  to  regulate  the  liquor  traffic 

than  prohibition. 

165.  Irrigation  systems  should  be  owned  by  bona  fide  irriga- 

tors. 

166.  The  teaching  profession  is  underpaid. 

167.  The  world  is  growing  better. 

168.  The  United  States  should  keep  a  larger  standing  arm}'. 

169.  Diplomatic  and  consular  service  requires  special  training. 

170.  The  spread  of  Christianit}'  is  aided  b}'  a  multiplicity  of 

sects. 

171.  The  decision  of  a  judge  is  more  likely  to  be  correct  than 

the  verdict  of  a  jury. 

172.  A  majority  vote  of  a  jury  should  convict  or  acquit. 

173.  More  money  is  spent  for  luxuries  than  for  necessities. 

174.  Laws  prohibiting  the  selling  of  tobacco  to  boys,  are  just 

and  expedient. 

175.  Races  are  a  necessary  part  of  agricultural  fairs. 

176.  The  work  of  the  Salvation  Army  is  to  be  commended. 

177.  More  money  has  been   spent  than  made,  in   California 

mining. 
17S.  The  accumulation  of  wealth  is  a  test  of  intellectual  ability. 

179.  The  habits  of  modern  society  tend  to  i)hysical  degener- 

ation. 

180.  More  rigorous  Ijanki-uptcy  laws  are  needed. 

181.  The  American  coast  defense  is  insufficient. 


388  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMEXTATION. 

182.  The  modern  newspaper  is  responsible  for  public  opinion. 

183.  The  American  Navy  should  be  increased. 

184.  Charles  Dickens'  characters  are  caricatures. 

185.  The  novel  is  deteriorating  in  real  worth. 

186.  The  Silver  question  is  of  more  imjDortance  than  the  Tariff 

question. 

187.  The  college  course  should  be  shortened. 

188.  A  jury  of  six  or  eight  is  as  trustworthy  as  a  jury  of  twelve. 

189.  Public   funds   should   not   be   appropriated   to   sectarian 

schools. 

190.  Wealth  accumulates  as  men  deca3^ 

191.  Lincoln's  plan  of  reconstruction  was   preferable   to   the 

congressional  plan. 

192.  Capital  punishment  is  preferable  to  life  imprisonment. 

193.  The  President  is  justifiable  in  using  troops  to  quell  riots. 

194.  Public  libraries,  museums  and  art  galleries,  should  be  open 

on  Sunday. 

195.  The  ratio  of  silver  and  gold  coin  should  be  reached  by 

international  agreement. 

196.  The   iN'orwegian   system   of  liquor  selling  would  be  im- 

practicable in  the  United  States. 

197.  Electric  wires  in  cities  should  be  underground. 

198.  Underground  transit  is  preferable  to  elevated  railways. 

199.  The  study  of  formal  grammar  is  unnecessary  to  English 

scholarship. 

200.  Woman  suffrage  has  had  a  salutary  influence  on  politics. 

201.  Daily  food  exerts  an  intellectual  and  moral  influence. 

202.  Uniform  text-books  for  the  public  schools  should  be  pre- 

scribed by  law. 

203.  The  city  or  district  school  should  furnish  pupils  text-books. 

204.  The  bicycle  is  preferable  to  the  horse  as  a  means  of  loco- 

motion. 

205.  Intensive  study  is  preferable  to  extensive  study. 

206.  The  practice  of  appointing  literary  men  to  diplomatic  posi- 

tions is  a  wise  one. 


GLOSSARY. 

A  Fortiori. 

For  a  still  stronger  reason.  A  kind  of  argument  which  con- 
cludes either  (a)  that  something  does  not  take  place,  because 
the  causes  which  alone  could  bring  it  to  pass,  operate  still 
more  strongly  in  another  case  without  producing  that  effect  ; 
or  (b)  that  something  does  take  place,  because  causes  much 
weaker  than  those  which  operate  to  bring  it  about,  are  effect- 
ive in  another  case. 

Agreement. 

A  method  of  induction  in  which  it  is  argued  that  if  two  or 
more  instances  of  a  phenomenon  have  only  one  other  circum- 
stance in  common,  that  circumstance  may  be  regarded  as  its 
cause  (or  effect),  or  as  related  w^itli  it  through  some  fact  of 
causation. 

Analogy. 

An  argument  from  agreement,  likeness,  or  jDroportion  be- 
tween the  relations  of  things  to  one  another  ;  hence,  often 
agreement  or  likeness  of  things  themselves.  It  strictly  de- 
notes only  a  partial  similarity,  as  in  some  special  circum- 
stances or  effects,  predicable  of  two  or  more  things  in  other 
respects  essentially  different.  In  logic,  analogy  is  a  form  of 
reasoning  in  which  from  the  similarity  of  two  or  more  things 
in  certain  particulars,  their  similarity  in  other  particulars  is 
inferred. 

Antecedent  Probability. 

A  likelihood  from  what  has  gone  before.  The  probability 
of  a  supposition  or  hypothesis  drawn  from  reasoning  or  an- 
alogy previous  to  any  observation  or  evidence  which  is  con- 
sidered as  giving  it  a  posteriori  probability.     {See  a  priori.) 

A  Posteriori. 

From  what  comes  after  ;  from  an  effect ;  from  the  latter 
or  subsequent.  In  logic,  from  a  consequent  to  its  antecedent, 
or  from  an  effect  to  its  cause.     A  kind  of  reasoning  wliich 

389 


390  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF   ARGUMENTATION. 

follows  this  order.     From  experience,  empirical ;  oj^posed  to 
a  priori. 

A  Priori. 

From  the  former,  that  which  precedes  ;  from  an  antecedent 
to  a  consequent,  from  a  condition  to  the  conditioned,  from 
cause  to  effect ;  applied  to  cognitions  ^vhich,  though  the}'  may 
come  in  experience,  have  their  origin  in  the  nature  of  the 
mind,  and  are  independent  of  experience. 

Argument. 

Any  fact,  truth,  principle,  or  circumstance  used  in  reason- 
ing, and  tending  to  produce  belief  concerning  matter  in 
doubt.  A  premise,  or  premises  set  forth  to  prove  an  assump- 
tion or  conclusion. 

Argumentation. 

The  process  of  so  using  facts,  truths,  principles  or  state- 
ments, as  either  to  establish  or  overthrow  a  proposition. 

Argumentum  ad  Captandam. 

An  appeal  to  vulgar  i^rejudice,  or  a  resort  to  gross  flattery  ; 
an  attempt  to  "  catch  the  crowd." 

Argumentum  ad  Hominem. 

A  special  mode  of  refutation  by  showing  an  opponent's  in- 
consistency, or  by  showing  that  he  is  precluded  from  the 
benefit  of  a  principle  to  which  he  apjDcals.  An  argument 
drawn  from  premises  which,  whether  true  or  false,  ought  to 
be  admitted  by  the  person  to  whom  they  are  addressed,  either 
on  account  of  his  peculiar  beliefs  or  experience,  or  because 
they  are  necessary  to  justif}'  his  conduct,  or  are  otherwise 
conductive  to  his  interest. 

Argumentum  ad  Ignorantiam. 

An  argument  founded  on  the  ignorance  of  one's  adver- 
saries. 

Argumentum  ad  Misericordiam. 

An  appeal  for  sympatic  ;  an  attempt  to  awaken  the  pity 
of  an  audience. 

Argumentum  ad  Verecundiam. 

An  appeal  to  popular  esteem,  reverence,  or  affection  for 


GLOSSARY.  391 

a  great  man  ;  an  argument  from  the  opinions  of  men  whose 
views  are  commonly  accepted  as  authoritative. 

Argument  from  Antecedent  Probability. 

Assuming  the  truth  of  a  proposition  and  showing  why  it 
might  be  true.     (See  antecedent  probabihty,  and  a  priori.) 

Argument  from  Example. 

Reasoning  that  what  is  true  in  certain  known  cases,  will  be 
true  in  similar  cases  ;  citing  instances  of  the  operation  of  a 
law  or  principle,  to  establish  the  law  or  principle.  (See  An- 
alogy.) 

Argument  from  Sign. 

Putting  forward  one  fact,  event,  circumstance  or  condition 
as  a  reason  for  believing  in  the  existence  of  another. 

Argument  from  Silence. 

Inferring  the  non-existence  of  anything  from  its  not  being 
mentioned  when  it  would  naturall}^  be  mentioned  if  it  existed. 

Assumption. 

A  proposition  the  truth  of  which  is  taken  for  granted,  from 
common  experience,  or  without  proof. 

Authority. 

The  opinion  of  a  competent  person  on  a  doubtful  matter  ; 
testimon)'  as  to  matters  of  opinion.  That  to  which,  or  one 
to  whom  an  appeal  may  be  made  in  support  of  any  opinion, 
action  or  course  of  conduct. 

Belief. 

Assent  to  a  proposition  admitting  any  degree  of  strength 
from  slight  proljaljility  to  full  certainty.  A  conviction  of  the 
truth  of  a  given  proposition  or  an  alleged  fact,  resting  upon 
grounds  insuthcient  to  constitute  positive  knowledge. 

Burden  of  Proof. 

The  obligation  resting  upon  one  of  the  parties  to  an  action 
to  establish  an  alleged  fact  by  proof  under  penalty  of  having 
judgment  given  against  him,  according  to  the  presumption 
recognized  l)y  the  law  of  evidence  in  case  he  adduces  no 
proof. 


392  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

Chain  of  Reasoning;. 

A  course  of  reasoning  in  which  the  conclusion  of  one  syllo- 
gism is  taken  for  a  premise  of  another,  and  this  process  is 
continued  to  a  final  conclusion. 

Chronological  Sequence. 

The  succession  of  events  according  to  the  order  of  time. 

Circumstancial  Evidence. 

All  evidence  outside  of  and  beyond  human  testimony. 

Complete  Method. 

A  method  of  reasoning  combining  alternately  deduction 
and  induction.  It  has  three  steps;  —  direct  induction,  de- 
duction, or  ratiocination,  and  verification. 

Conclusion. 

(1)  A  proposition  proved  ;  a  proposition  the  truth  of  which 
is  apparent  from  the  relation  of  the  premises.  (2)  The  clos- 
ing part  of  an  argumentative  discourse. 

Conclusive  Presumption. 

A  rule  of  law  determining  the  amount  and  kind  of  evidence 
demanded  in  support  of  certain  kinds  of  propositions,  and 
rendering  them  incontrovertible. 

Concomitant  Variation. 

A  method  of  induction  from  increase  or  diminution  of  an 
effect  with  increased  or  diminished  intensity  of  cause. 

Concurrent  Testimony. 

The  like  testimony  of  two  or  more  witnesses  of  the  same 
matter. 

Conviction. 

(1)  The  process  of  compelling  the  acceptance  of  a  truth. 

(2)  Strong  belief  on  the  ground  of  satisfactory  reasons  or 
evidence  ;  a  fixed  or  firm  belief. 

Corollary. 

That  which  follows  over  and  above  the  special  truth  proved 
or  demonstrated  in  a  proposition.  A  proposition  incidentally 
proved  in  proving  another  ;  an  immediate  or  easily  drawn 
consequence  ;  hence,  any  inference  similarly  drawn. 


GLOSSARY.  393 

Cumulative  Argrument. 

A  resultant  arising  from  a  combination  of  sign  arguments. 

Deduction. 

The  inference  of  a  less  general,  or  a  particular  truth,  from 
a  more  general  one  ;  derivation  as  a  result  from  a  known 
principle  ;  the  result  itself,  as  so  inferred  :  That  mode  of 
investigation  by  which  the  law  of  an  effect  is  ascertained 
from  the  consideration  of  the  laws  of  the  different  tendencies 
of  which  it  is  the  joint  result. 

Definition. 

The  explanation  of  the  meaning  of  a  term  ;  the  enumera- 
tion and  distinguishing  of  essential  attributes  ;  stating  the 
signification  of  a  word,  or  expression,  or  the  essential  prop- 
erties of  a  thing. 

Difference. 

A  method  of  induction  based  on  the  principle  that  an  an- 
tecedent, present  when  a  phenomenon  follows,  and  absent 
when  it  does  not  follow,  is  the  cause  of  the  phenomenon. 

Dilemma. 

An  argument  presenting  an  antagonist  two  or  more  alterna- 
tives equally  against  him,  whichever  he  chooses. 

Direct  Arg:ument. 

Proof  applied  immediately  to  the  establishing  of  a  propo- 
sition. 

DisteUef. 

The  state  of  mind  of  one  convinced  of  the  incorrectness  of 
a  statement  or  opinion.  The  conviction  that  a  proposition 
for  which  credence  is  demanded,  is  not  true. 

Doubt. 

Hesitation  between  two  or  more  inconsistent  opinions. 
Uncertainty  with  regard  to  the  truth  of  a  given  assertion  ; 
suspense  of  judgment  arising  from  defect  of  evidence  or  of 
inclination  ;  an  unsettled  state  of  opinion  ;  indecision  of 
belief. 
Empirical  Proof. 

T^roof  derived  from  human  experience. 


394  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

Empiric  Fact. 

A  phenomenon  always  appearing  with  another  although 
no  causal  connection  is  known. 

Empirical  Law. 

A  law  of  nature  ascertained  purely  by  induction  from  cer- 
tain observations  or  experiments,  and  having  no  other  guar- 
antee for  its  truth. 

Enthymeme. 

A  syllogism  with  one  premise  suppressed. 

Evidence. 

Any  means  by  which  alleged  matter  of  fact  under  investi- 
gation is  established  or  disproved.  The  material  of  proof  ; 
the  means  by  which  the  existence  or  non-existence,  the  truth 
or  falsehood,  of  an  alleged  fact  is  ascertained  or  made  evi- 
dent ;  testimony  ;  facts  upon  which  reasoning  from  cause  to 
effect  is  based  ;  the  experiential  premises  of  a  proof. 

—  Circumstantial. 

All  evidence  excejDt  that  of  witnesses. 

—  Demonstrative. 

Evidence  which  must  necessarily  produce  conviction. 
Proofs  are  demonstrative  when  the  certainty  which  they 
necessitate  is  al)Solute  and  complete  ;  when  the  opposite 
alternative  involves  a  contradiction. 

—  Direct. 

That  which  goes  straight  to  the  very  point  in  question  ; 
that  which  if  believed,  proves  the  point  without  the  aid 
of  inference  or  reasoning. 

—  Indirect. 

That  which  goes  expressly  to  prove  other  facts  onh', 
from  which  it  is  proposed  to  infer  what  is  the  fact  on 
the  point  in  question. 

—  Intuitive. 

What  is  already  in  the  mind,  without  any  process  of 
reasoning.     Primitive  Ijeliefs. 

—  Moral. 

Tlie  evidence  of  an  irresistibly  probable  argument. 


GLOSSARY.  .  395 

Evidence ;  Positive. 

Testimony  to  having  witnessed  an  act  or  event,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  negative  evidence  or  the  testimony  of  a 
witness  who  w^as  present  and  observant,  that  such  an  act 
or  event  did  not  take  place. 

—  Presumptive. 

Evidence  sufficient  if  not  contradicted. 

—  Testimonial. 

The  sworn  statements  of  witnesses. 

Excitation. 

Stimuhiting  the  feeUng  l)y  awakening  a  n_ew  affection,  or 
by  strengthening  one  already  existing. 

Exordinm. 

Introduction  ;  that  part  of  a  discourse  which  Inings  into 
relation  the  speaker,  the  subject  and  the  occasion. 

Experiment. 

A  method  of  induction  by  varying  each  circumstance  in 
succession,  the  others  remaining  constant. 

Expert. 

One  who  testifies  as  to  matters  req[uiring  special  knowledge, 
or  as  to  the  interpretation  of  facts.  One  wdio  by  virtue  of 
special  acquired  knowledge  or  experience  on  a  subject, 
presumably  not  within  the  knowledge  of  men  generally,  may 
testify  in  a  court  of  justice  to  matters  of  opinion  thereon,  as 
distinguished  from  ordinary  witnesses  who  can  in  general, 
testify  only  to  facts. 

Explication. 

The  development  of  a  term  or  theme  b}'  giving  the  attri- 
butes. 

Exposition. 

The  development  of  a  term  or  theme  by  means  of  its  essen- 
tial attributes  ;  the  making  clear  and  intclHgible  of  any  sub- 
ject, idea  or  doctrine  ;  detailed  explanation. 

Fact. 

A  real  state  of  things,  as  distinguished  from  oi)iMi()n  or  be- 


396  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGU^IENTATIOX. 

lief  ;  that  in  the  real  world,  agreement  or  disagreement  with 
which,  makes  a  proposition  true  or  false.  In  law  an  actual 
or  alleged  physical  or  mental  event  or  existence,  as  distin- 
guished from  a  legal  effect  or  consequence. 

Fallacy. 

A  fault  or  error  in  reasoning  ;  a  false  syllogism  ;  an  in- 
valid argumentation.  "  A  piece  of  false  reasoning  in  the  nar- 
rowest sense  ;  either  an  invalid  immediate  inference  or  an 
invalid  syllogism  ;  a  piece  of  false  reasoning  in  the  broader 
sense,  whereby  from  real  facts  a  false  conclusion  is  inferred. 
A  false  belief  Avhether  due  to  correct  reasoning  from  false 
premises,  reasons  or  sources,  or  to  incorrect  reasoning  from 
true  ones.     Any  mental  confusion  whatever." 

Hypothesis. 

A  provisional  conclusion  used  in  accounting  for  related 
facts.  Any  supposition  which  we  make  (either  without  actual 
evidence  or  on  evidence  avowedly  insufficient),  in  order  to 
endeavor  to  deduce  from  it  conclusions  in  accordance  with 
facts  which  are  known  to  be  real  ;  under  the  idea  that  if  the 
conclusions  to  which  the  hypothesis  leads  are  known  truths, 
the  hypothesis  either  must  be  true,  or  at  least  is  likely  to  be 
true. 

Indirect  Argument. 

Proof  applied  to  the  establishing  of  a  proposition  by  the 
overthrow  of  a  contradictory  proposition. 

Induction. 

Reasoning  from  a  part  to  a  whole,  or  from  particulars  to 
generals  ;  the  process  of  drawing  general  conclusions  from 
particular  cases  ;  the  inference  from  the  character  of  a  sample 
to  that  of  the  whole  lot  sampled. 

Inference. 

A  proposition  perceived  to  be  true  from  its  known  connec- 
tion with  some  fact  ;  passing  from  one  proposition  to  an- 
other ;  the  formation  of  a  belief  or  opinion,  not  as  to  matters 
directly  observed,  but  as  constrained  b}^  observations  made 
of  other  matters,  or  by  beliefs  already  adopted  ;  the  system 


GLOSSARY.  397 

of  propositions  or  judgments  connected  together  by  such  an 
act  in  syllogism. 

Innuendo. 

An  oblique  hint  intended  for  the  injury  of  some  person  or 
thing. 

Joint  Methol. 

An  induction  from  a  union  of  the  methods  of  agreement 
and  difference. 
Major  Premise. 

A  general  truth  used  as  the  ground  for  believing  that  some 
thing  else  is  true. 

Major  Term. 

The  predicate  of  the  conclusion  in  a  syllogism  ;  usually  the 
most  inclusive  of  the  three  terms. 

Maxim. 

A  proposition  expressing  a  belief  gained  in  common  human 
experience. 

Middle  Term. 

That  term  with  which  both  the  major  term  and  the  minor 
term  are  comjiared  in  the  premises  of  a  syllogism. 

Minor  Premise. 

A  proposition  connecting  some  special  truth  with  the  gen- 
eral truth  of  the  major  premise  of  a  syllogism. 

Minor  Term. 

The  subject  of  the  conclusion  in  a  syllogism  ;  usually  the 
least  inclusive  term. 

Moral  Argument. 

Such  argument  as  would  lead  to  conviction  Avithout  demon- 
stration ;  opposed  to  demonstrative  argument. 

Moral  Certainty. 

Such  certainty  as  a  reasonable  person  would  act  upon. 
Motive. 

Whatever  occasions  or  induces  voluntaiy  human  action  ;  a 
determining  impulse  ;  a  desire  for  something  ;  a  contemplated 
gratification  as  final  cause  for  action. 


398  THE    ESSENTIALS    OF    ARGUMENTATION. 

Non  causa  pro  causa. 

Assuming  without  suflicicnt  grounds  that  one  thing  is  the 
cause  of  another. 

Non  Sequitur. 

The  conclusion  does  not  necessarily  follow  from  the  prem- 
ises ;  an  argument  so  loose  that  it  has  little  or  no  cogency  ; 
the  fallacy  of  the  consequent. 

Onus  Probandi. 

Burden  of  proof  ;  the  necessity  laid  upon  him  who  affirms, 
to  prove  ;  the  task  of  proving  what  has  been  alleged. 

Parity  of  Reasoning:. 

Analogy  ;  similarity  in  a  course  of  reasoning  ;  arguing  a 
case  by  a  course  of  reasoning  by  which  a  similar  case  has  al- 
ready been  established. 

Partition. 

The  separation  of  the  contents  of  a  proposition  into  its 
parts  for  confirmation  or  refutation. 

Peroration. 

The  closing  part  of  a  discourse,  used  to  enforce  arguments, 
recapitulate,  or  point  a  moral. 

Persuasion. 

Appealing  to  the  will  through  the  feelings,  in  order  to  in- 
cite action  ;  the  direct  or  indirect  presentation  of  motives  for 
an  act,  or  course  of  action. 

Petitio  Principii. 

Begging  the  question  ;  assuming  in  an  argument,  the  very 
thing  which  is  to  be  proved  ;  the  assunqDtion  of  a  jDremise 
which  no  person  holding  antagonistic  views  will  admit. 

Plausil)iUty. 

Probability  apparently  approaching  positive  certainty  ;  a 
specious  or  superficial  appearance  of  being  right  or  worthy 
of  accei^tance,  approval  or  applause. 

Post  hoc. 

The  fallacy  of  assuming  that  because  one  event  or  circum- 
stance follows  another,  it  is  the  effect  of  that  other. 


GLOSSARY.  399 

Positive  Argument. 

The  sole  effect  of  a  cause,  the  only  condition  of  a  conclu- 
sion. 

Postulate. 

A  proposition  necessarily  demanded  as  a  basis  of  argu- 
ment. 

Premise. 

A  proposition  put  forward  as  proof  of  another  proposition  ; 
part  of  a  syllogism. 

Presumption. 

Accepting  the  truth  of  a  proposition  in  advance  of  proofs,  or 
in  the  absence  of  proofs  ;  hypothetical  or  inductive  inference. 

Probability. 

Quantity  of  belief  or  information  concerning  an  uncertain 
event  or  circumstance ;  that  state  of  a  case  or  question  of 
fact,  which  results  from  superior  evidence  or  i)reponderance 
of  argument  on  one  side,  inclining  the  mind  to  receive  that 
as  the  truth,  but  leaving  room  for  doubt. 

Probable  Argument. 

AVhatever  comes  little  short  of  absolute  certainty. 

Progressive  Tendency. 

Growth  or  increase  of  probability  depending  on  increase 
of  cause  or  removal  of  hindrance. 

Proof. 

Any  fact,  principle  or  argument  used  in  reasoning  ;  any 
effort,  act,  or  operation  made  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
any  truth  or  fact ;  evidence  and  argumentation  that  put  the 
conclusion  beyond  doubt. 

—  Intuitive. 

Proof  given  by  the  mind  itself  acting  under  the  neces- 
sary laws  of  thought. 

Recapitulation. 

A  summary  or  concise  statement  by  heads,  of  the  facts, 
principles  or  arguments  in  a  discourse. 


400  THE   ESSENTIALS    OF    AEGUMENTATIOX. 

Reductio  a5  ahsurdiim. 

"Keduciiig  to  the  absurd."  Substituting  a  new  minor 
premise  in  a  syllogism  and  thence  inferring  an  absurd  con- 
clusion, showing  that  the  major  includes  too  much  ;  an  in- 
direct demonstration. 

Refutation. 

Disproving  a  proposition,  or  establishing  its  contradictory 
projDOsition,  or  one  inconsistent. 

Residues. 

A  method  of  induction  by  subtracting  the  effects  of  known 
causes,  leaving  the  remaining  effects  to  remaining  ante- 
cedents. 

Sign. 

Anything  which  serves  to  manifest,  stand  for,  or  call  up 
the  idea  of  another  thing  to  the  mind  of  the  person  perceiv- 
ing the  sign  ;  evidence  of  something  past,  present  or  future  ; 
an  indication  ;  anything  suggesting  an  idea  or  assisting  an 
inference  ;  hence  the  logical  reason  for  accepting  or  reject- 
ing the  contents  of  a  proposition. 

Sophism. 

A  false  argumentation  devised  to  exercise  one's  ingenuity, 
or  for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  ;  sometimes  a  logically  false 
argumentation  ;  a  fallacy. 

SopMstry. 

Fallacious  reasoning  ;  reasoning  sound  in  appearance  only  ; 
reasoning  deceptive  from  intuition  or  passion  ;  argument  for 
exercise  merely  ;  trickery  ;  craft  in  argument. 

Syllogism. 

A  formal  argument  in  which  from  two  propositions,  called 
premises,  a  third,  called  the  conclusion,  is  inferred. 

Term. 

A  name  ;  specially  the  subject  or  predicate  of  a  proposition. 

Testimony. 

A  statement  of  what  a  witness  has  observed,  used  as  an 
argument. 


GLOSSARY.  401 

Thesis. 

A  proposition  put  forward  to  be  supported  by  argument  ; 
an  argumentative  composition  embodying  the  results  of 
original  research. 

Trutli. 

Conformity  of  knowledge  or  statement  to  the  thing  known 
or  stated. 
Unity. 

Such  an  arrangement  of  details  as  will  make  their  sum  seem 
a  single  thing. 

Waiving:  a  Point. 

Temporarily  delaying  the  discussion  of  any  specified 
matter. 

Witness. 

One  who  gives  testimony  on  the  trial  of  a  cause  ;  one  who 
appears  before  a  court,  judge,  or  other  officer,  and  is  ex- 
amined under  oath  or  affirmation  ;  one  whose  testimony  is 
offered  or  desired  ;  one  in  whose  presence  or  under  whose 
observation  a  fact  occurred. 


INDEX, 


Abraham,  54. 

Absolute  certainty,  73. 

Ahsunlum,  reductio  ad,  78, 

Abuse  of  authority,  53. 

Acknowledging  difficulties,  7. 

Active  principles,  222. 

Adams,  J.  Q.,  14,  192. 

Adaptation,  200,  249. 

Admissions,  hurtful,  55. 

Advantages  of  plan,  16;  of  climax, 
21 ;  of  enthymeme,  93. 

Adverse  points,  169,  171. 

Affirmative  statement,  33. 

A  fortiori,  152. 

Agreement,  method  of,  115. 

Alliance'with  audience,  241. 

Alternatives,  principle  of,  81 ;  care 
in  choosing,  84 ;  incorrect,  85 ; 
two  or  more,  81,  82. 

Ambiguity,  fallacy  of,  105. 

Analogy,  158;  and  induction,  162 
argumentative,  1(53;  false,  167 
fanciful,  171;  illustrative,  165 
in  proverbs,  167 ;  use  of,  166 
varying  force  in,  166. 

Analysis,  need  of,  26, 122. 

Anderson,  Dr.  M.  B.,  quoted,  45. 

Antecedent  probability,  argument 
from,  124,  125;  and  sign,  182; 
in  common  affairs,  137  ;  in  crimi- 
nal cases,  137;  in  drama,  1I?6; 
in  fiction,  i:'.3;  in  science,  129; 
on  both  sides,  140;  i)lace  in  or- 


der of  proofs,  200;  preponder- 
ance of,  141 ;  varying  force  of, 
145. 

Antiphon,  125. 

A  posteriori,  124,  199. 

Appeal,  personal,  218,  259;  direct, 
260;  low,  237;  to  motives,  236; 
to  passions,  104,  216,  237. 

Application  of  principles,  150. 

A  lyriori,  124,  199. 

Arago,  153. 

Arguing  universal,  4,  142. 

Argument,  26,  73;  body  of,  26; 
classes  of,  73-190;  deductive, 
88 ;  demonstrative,  73 ;  from  an- 
tecedent probability,  124 ;  from 
example,  146 ;  from  sign,  173 ;  in- 
direct, 78 ;  inductive,  108 ;  prob- 
able, 73. 

Arguments  combined,  183;  se- 
quence of,  190. 

Argumentation  defined  (introduc- 
tion) ;  and  exposition  (intro- 
duction) ;  equipment  for  (in- 
troduction) ;  field  of  (introduc- 
tion) ;  preparation  for,  (intro- 
duction);  use  of  (introduction). 

Argumentative  analogies,  163 ;  pe- 
roration, 256. 

Argwnentum  ad  hominem,  102 ;  ad 
poptdam,  103;  a  fortiori,  152; 
a  posteriori,  124,  199;  u  priori, 
124,  199. 

403 


404 


INDEX. 


Aristotle,  125,  260. 

Armstrong,  Gen.,  247. 

Arousing  feeling,  238. 

Arrangement,  12,  26,  190;  deduc- 
tive, 15;  force  in,  192;  induc- 
tive, 15. 

Assertion,  bare,  77. 

Association  of  ideas,  22 

Assumed  cause,  143. 

Assumed  premise,  99. 

Assumptions,  37 ;  defined,  38 ;  force 
of,  14,  38. 

Audience  and  persuasion,  219;  de- 
mands of,  241. 

Authority,  51;  abuse  of,  53;  in- 
stances of,  52. 

Authorship,  signs  of,  175. 

Babcock  conspiracy,  65. 

Bacon,  Francis,  58. 

Bain,  A.,  quoted,  239. 

Balfour,  A.  J.,  quoted,  96. 

Ballantine,  W.,  qvioted,  76, 101. 

Bank  of  France,  156. 

Bare  assertion,  71. 

Barre,  Col.,  167. 

Bascom,  John,  quoted,  238,  241. 

Basis  of  experience,  129,  146;  of 
force,  73;  of  induction,  109;  of 
logic,  88 ;  of  resemblance,  146 ; 
of  source,   124;  of  use,  77. 

Beaconsfield,  Earl,  143. 

Beecher,  H.  W.,42,  154,  221,  230, 
241,  255. 

Begging  the  question,  97,  149. 

Bentham,  J.  H.,  quoted,  100. 

Best,  quoted,  4. 

Best  evidence,  41. 

Belief,  effect  of,  46. 

Bible,  8,41,  52,53,  54,  58,  60,  67,  96, 
99,  118,  152,  182. 

Body  of  argument,  26;  of  dis- 
course, 4. 

Bolingbroke,  Lord,  59. 

Book  of  Mormon,  52. 

Booth,  J.  AV.,  248. 


Brief,  16. 

Brevity  of  introduction,  10;  of 
plan,  16. 

Breckinridge,  Gen.,  quoted,  240. 

Brooks,  Phillips,  quoted,  14,  216, 
251. 

Brown,  John,  252. 

Brougham,  Lord,  quoted,  253, 263. 

Brutus's  speech,  215. 

Buford  case,  240. 

Bumble-bees,  110. 

Burden  of  proof,  33;  defined,  34; 
law  of,  34 ;  located,  34. 

Burke,  Edmund,  17,  19,  23,  .33,  34, 
81,  87,  205,  206,  211,  215,  243,  253, 
255,  260. 

Burke,  quoted,  17, 19, 24,  25, 33, 34, 
59,  82,  84,  89,  92,  103,  146,  147, 
170,  194,  202,  227,  231,  244,  246, 
267. 

Burke's  aryumenUnn  ad  hominem, 
103 ;  antecedent  probabilities, 
127;  deductions,  89;  details,  244; 
dilemmas,  84 ;  examijles,  147 ; 
motives,  235;  order  of  argu- 
ments, 202 ;  partitions,  144 ;  pe- 
rorations, 256;  persuasion,  216, 
225;  plans,  17,  19;  recapitula- 
tions, 205 ;  refutations,  206 ;  syl- 
logisms, 91 ;  transitions,  23,  25 ; 
use  of  silence,  59. 

Byron,  Lord,  47,  94. 

CalhouD,  J.  C,  184. 

Camden,  Lord,  51. 

Camerarius,  155. 

Canals,  155. 

Canons,  Mill's,  114. 

Care  in  introduction,  G. 

Caroline,  Queen,  253,  263. 

Cases  not  alike,  155. 

Cause  and  effect,  22, 113 ;  mutuality 

of,  122  ;  assumed,  143. 
Certainty,  absolute,  73;  moral,  73; 

practical,  75. 
Chains  of  reasoning,  96. 


INDEX. 


405 


Character  of   proposition,  70;    of 

speaker,  241 ;   of  -witness,  45. 
Characterizing  subject,  7. 
Chatham,  Lokd,  quoted,  261. 
Chester,  202. 

Cheever,  H.  B.,  quoted,  98. 
Chicago  Herald,  qu.oted,  255. 
Choate,  R.,  quoted,  219,  220. 
Cicero,  223,  230,  253. 
Circulus  inprohando,  98. 
Circumstances  overestimated,  G5 ; 

conflicting,  09. 
Circumstantial  evidence,  31,  42,  61, 

76,  173. 
Clau-na-gael,  55. 
Classes  of  arguments,  73,  190. 
Climax  arrangement,  13,  14,  21 ;  in 

arguments,  204;   in  persuasion, 

253. 
Collins,  W.  C,  58,  81. 
Combined  arguments,  183. 
Complete  method,  114. 
CoNAN  Doyle,  quoted,  14,  75. 
Conclusion,  3,.  4,  19,  26,  255;  irrele- 
vant, 101,  103 ;  purpose  of,  255  ; 
when  omitted,  255. 
Concomitant  variations,  116. 
Concrete,  value  of,  247. 
Concurrent  testimony,  59. 
Condition,  effect  to,  180. 
Conflicting  circumstances,  69;  mo- 
tives, 140. 
Conflict,  irreconcilable,  70. 
Confusion  of  terms,  102. 
Consciousness,  testimony  of,  43. 
Contradictory  testimony,  67. 
Conviction,  1,  2;    and  persuasion, 

2,  215,  220. 
Coordination,  12,  14. 
Corroboration,  188. 
Counter-presumption,  40. 
Credibility  of  witness,  44 ;  destroy- 
ing, 67. 
Critic,  The,  quoted,  72. 
Cronin  trial,  55, 
Cross-examijuition,  68. 


Cumulative  argument,  188. 

Dartmouth    College    Case,    7, 

221,  252. 

Darwin,  Charles,  35, 75, 110, 132 ; 
quoted,  110. 

Debate,  proposition  in,  29;  pre- 
sumption in,  39. 

Decorum  in  speaker,  242. 

Deduction,  2,  15,  88,  124;  and  in- 
duction, 114, 121,  123;  fallacies 
in,  97-108;  not  persuasion,  244. 

Deductive,  15 ;  argument,  88,  124. 

Defoe,  Daniel,  57. 

Defective  senses,  75. 

Definition,  29,  ai^plied,  150;  exam- 
ples of,  31;  logical,  29;  quali- 
ties of,  30. 

Democratic  party,  185 ;  convention, 
127. 

Demogague  and  statesman,  227. 

Demosthenes,  253. 

Demonstrative  argument,  89. 

Description,  244. 

Destroying  credibility,  67. 

Destructive  dilemma,  83. 

Details,  indications,  116;  presen- 
tation of,  244 ;  too  many,  246. 

Dexter,  Samuel,  197. 

Dial,  The,  quoted,  211. 

Dickens,  Charles,  134,  148. 

Difference,  ignoring  the,  155; 
method  of,  115. 

Different  arguments,  200;  use  of, 
81;  minds,  200;  subjects,  200. 

Difficulty  in  refuting,  213. 

Dilemma,  destructive,  83;  fallacies 
in,  85;  in  Burke,  84;  in  Hux- 
ley, 84. 

Direct  appeal,  260;  argument,  77; 
evidence,  61 ;  and  indirect,  82. 

Directing  feeling,  238. 

Discourse,  parts  of,  5. 

JJiscoveries,  effects  of,  117,  171. 

Discrediting  witness,  68. 

Discrepancies,  59. 


406 


INDEX. 


Discussion,  4,  12. 
Doctrine  and  policy,  31. 
Donovan,  Judge,  quoted,  271. 
Drama,  probability  in,  136. 
Drummond,  H.,  quoted,  249. 
Durham,  County  of,  202. 

Earnestness,  253. 

Educated  hearer,  250. 

Education,  popular,  120. 

Education,  quoted,  114,  120. 

Educational  Revieio,  qaoted,  77,  80, 
115. 

Effect  to  cause,  180. 

Effects  of  belief,  46;  of  grouping, 
22. 

Eliot,  George,  133,  163,  191; 
quoted,  51, 172. 

Emerson,  R.  W.  quoted,  252. 

Emigrant  reasoning,  144. 

Emotions  and  intellect,^25p ;  reach- 

^     ed,  220,  222. 

Empiric  fact,  112. 

English  literature,  80. 

Enthymeme,  91,  93 ;  advantages  of, 
93. 

Epithet,  question-begging,  30,  100, 

Equivocation,  105. 

Erskine,  Lord,  30,  44,  68,  152. 

Evangelists,  60. 

Evidence,  27 ;  and  proof,  27 ;  best, 
41,  circumstantial,  31,  62,  76; 
defined,  41 ;  direct,  and  in- 
direct, 61 ;  improbable,  67 ;  rare, 
42;  testimonial,  62,  76;  trust- 
worthy, 43. 

Evolution,  70,  83,  132,  203. 

Example,  124,  146-174;  argument, 
from,  124,  146;  and  induction, 
146,  148;  fallacies  in,  154;  in 
common  affairs,  150;  in  law 
cases,  151 ;  real  and  fictitious, 
149;  single,  148,204;  succession 
of,  186;  too  few,  154;  varying 
force  of,  153. 

Exordium  (see  introduction)  4-11. 


Experience  as  basis,  37,129,146,189. 

Experiment,  3. 

Experimental  verification,  3. 

Expert  testimony,  48;  care  in  re- 
ceiving, 50. 

Exposition,  1,  29;  in  argumenta- 
tion, 196. 

Fable,  145,  149. 

Fabricated  story,  55,  59. 

Fact  and  feeling,  13,  216;  and 
opinion,  41,  43,  44;  as  evi- 
dence, 41 ;  empiric,  112;  impor- 
tance of,  179. 

Fairness  to  opponent,  209. 

Fallacies,  in  antecedent  proba- 
bility, 142;  in  deduction,  97, 
108;  in  example,  154;  in  in- 
duction, 114-122;  in  sign,  180; 
material,  143. 

False  analogies,  167. 

Favorable  presumption,  35. 

Feeling,  exhibition  of,  243;  how 
aroused,  216 ;  must  be  genuine, 
218,  242. 

Fiction,  argument  based  on,  144; 
probability  in,  133, 149. 

Fictitious  example,  149. 

Field  murder,  55,  98. 

Field  of  argument,  4;  persuasion, 
219 ;  thought,  22. 

Fizeau,  153. 

Flower,  Governor,  quoted,  41. 

Following  other  speaker,  8,  206. 

Force,  basis  of,  73;  in  argument, 
199 ;  in  arrangement,  192 ;  pas- 
sage on,  25 ;  reserved,  248 ;  vary- 
ing, 37,  76,  145,  153,  166,  177, 
199. 

Forced  testimony,  54. 

FOUCAULT,  153. 

Four  Evangelists,  60. 

Fowler,  Professor,  quoted,  121, 
129,  131. 

Fox,  C.  J.,  210. 

Francis,  Sir  Philip,  76,  77. 


INDEX. 


407 


Franklin,    Benjamin,    154,    183; 

quoted,  221. 
Fraud  case,  263. 
Free  agent,  81. 
Freeman,  E.  A.,  80. 
Fullness  of  plan,  16. 

GaUileo,  54,  89. 

Garfield,  James  A.,  154,  183,  250. 

General  law,  3;  preparation  (see 
introduction). 

Genung,  J.  F.,  quoted,  159. 

Gladstone,  W.  E.,  39,  145. 

Goldsmith,  O.,  154. 

Goodridge  case,  137,  183. 

Gordon  trial,  30,  08, 150,  152. 

Gough,  J.  B.,249. 

Government  and  ship,  163. 

Gravitation  law  of,  130. 

Greek  orators,  191,  162. 

Greenleaf,  Professor,  quoted, 
60. 

Grimm,  Herman,  250. 

Grouping  material,  17,  20;  princi- 
ples of,  22. 

Hard  times,  128,  180. 

Hart,  J.  M.,  quoted,  112,  159,  107. 

Hastings  trial,  231,  263,  267. 

Helmhold  case,  230. 

Henry,  Patrick,  159,  230. 

Hepburn,  Professor,  quoted,  81. 

Herodotus,  quoted,  48. 

High  schools,  211. 

Hill,  Professor  A.  S.,  quoted,  98, 
116,  142,151,  159,  201,252. 

Holmes,  Sherlock,  79. 

Homer,  4,  57. 

Hugo,  Victor,  quoted,  84,  136. 

Huxley,  Tuomas,  7,  30,  M,  35,  36, 
42,  62,  70,  72,  142,  176,  183; 
quoted,  3,  63,  70, 72,  84,  112, 117, 
123,  124,  132,  160,  174,  224. 

Huxley's  analogies,  160;  defini- 
tions, 30,  62;  dilemmas,  84; 
introductions,    224;    order    of 


proofs,  203;  partitions,  194; 
j)ersuasion,  214,  223;  recapi- 
tulations, 205 ;  refutations,  206 ; 
signs,  174. 

Hurtful  admissions,  55. 

Hypothesis,  31,  37,  42,  76,  83;  and 
verification,  113,184;  qualities 
of,  129;  Webster's,  116. 

Ignoratio  elenchi,  101. 

Ignoring  differences,  155 ;  adverse 
points,  169. 

Illusions,  47. 

Illustrative  analogies,  163. 

Imaginary  cases,  145. 

Imperfect  induction,  109. 

Importance  of  fact,  179;  good  se- 
quence, 191. 

Improbable  evidence,  67. 

Incidental  testimony,  55,  57. 

Incorrect  alternatives,  84. 

Incongruous  motives,  140. 

Inconsistent  testimony,  67. 

Incredible  evidence,  67. 

Indirect  argument,  78;  evidence, 
61 ;  method,  240. 

Induction,  15,  108;  and  analogy, 
162;  deduction,  114,  121,  123; 
example,  146,  148;  basis  of, 
109;  cautious  in,  121;  fallacies 
in,  118;  imperfect,  109;  loose, 
111 ;  perfect,  109 ;  scientific.  111. 

Ingersoll,  R.,  quoted,  165. 

Innovator,  206. 

Instances  of  authority,  52;  indirect 
argument,  86 ;  number  of,  109 ; 
too  few,  118. 

Intellectual  powers,  45 ;  and  emo- 
tions, 250. 

Interested  witnesses,  48. 

Interpretation  of  sign,  42,  177. 

Introduction,  4,  6,  18 ;  omitted,  3,  8 ; 
personal,  8;  persuasive,  223; 
purpose  of,  (J ;  qualities  of,  6, 
9,  10;  style  of,  11 ;  time  of  writ- 
ing, 11. 


408 


INDEX. 


Introductions,  Burke's,  19,  223 
Huxley's,  7,  224 :  Webster's,  7, 
9,  223. 

Ireland,  202. 

Irony,  85,  210. 

Irreconcilable  conflict,  73. 

Irrelevant  conclusion,  101,  103. 

Irving,  154. 

Iteration,  24S. 

J  avert,  84. 

Jean  Valjean,  84,  120,  135. 
Jevons,  W.  S.,  quoted,  89,  90,  98, 

101,  114,  115,  117. 
Joint  method,  115. 
Jonah,  57. 
Joshua,  07. 
Judas,  67. 
Junius,  76,  77,  175,  205. 

Kenniston  Case,  138,  183. 

Kepler  130. 

Kinds  of  argument,  73-190;  on 
basis  of  force,  73;  on  basis  of 
logic,  88;  on  basis  of  source, 
122 ;  on  basis  of  use,  77. 

Kinds  of  syllogism,  91,  94,  95. 

Knowledge  of  audience,  13;  ma- 
terial, 13 ;  sources  of,  190. 

Koran,  53. 

Land  marks,  21. 

Law,  characterized,  151,  example 
in,  150;  of  gravitation,  130; 
presumi)tions  of,  36. 

Laws  and  Gilbert,  110. 

Lazarus,  67. 

Les  Miser ables,  84,  135. 

Lewis,  Sir  G.  C,  121. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  38,  154,  160, 
183,  210,  247,  252. 

Literary  preparation  (introduc- 
tion). 

Literature,  English,  80. 

Locke,  John,  44. 

Logic,  1,  91 ;  basis  of,  88. 


Logical  effect,  12,  120 ;  preparation 
(introduction) ;  sequence,  142, 
146. 

Loose  induction,  111. 

Low  appeal,  237, 

Luther,  Martin,  47. 

Ltell,  Sir  C,  131. 

Macaiilay,  Thomas,  76,  186,  244. 

Major  and  minor  premises,  143. 

Mars'  Hill,  8. 

Mark  Antony,  84,  104,  215,  239,243, 
253. 

Marsh,  Geo.  P.,  quoted,  243. 

Marsh,  O.  C,  117. 

Marzials,  F.,  quoted,  135. 

Maxim,  37. 

Memory,  trustworthy,  47. 

Method,  combined,  16,  114;  com- 
plete, 114 ;  indirect,  240 ;  of  en- 
forcement, 15 ;  of  induction  ; 
115,  of  refutation,  210;  persua- 
sive, 234;  variety  in,  248. 

Mill,  J.  S.,  quoted,  4,  15,  107,  131, 
163,  171. 

Miltonic  theory,  35,  73.  81,  206. 

MiKTO,  W.,  quoted,  95,  155,  161, 
165,  176. 

Miracles,  142. 

Modern  Jury  Trials,  quoted,  55,  68, 
73,  76,  139,  140,  241,  263. 

Modern  Wizard,  quoted,  65,  GC^. 

Mohammedan,  52. 

ISIoney,  104,  107,  165. 

Moral  certainty,  73. 

Mormon,  Book  of,  52. 

Moses,  4,  58,  105. 

ISIotive,  124,  234 ;  highest,  236 ;  in- 
congruous, 140. 

Motives,  234;  adapted,  238;  appeal 
to,  236;  classes  of,  235;  con- 
flicting, 140;  for  action,  235; 
lack  of,  138. 

Napoleon,  239. 
Narrative,  244,  249. 


INDEX. 


409 


Nation,  The,  quoted,  31,  41,  79,  120, 
15G,  209,  211,  257. 

National  Democratic  Convention, 
128. 

Natural  order,  21 ;  of  proofs,  193. 

Nature,  uniformity  of,  117. 

Necessity  of  proposition,  27  ;  per- 
suasion, 220. 

Need  of  definition,  29;  plan,  12. 

Negative  statement,  33;  in  de- 
bate, 3i. 

New  discoveries,  117. 

Newman,  J.  H.,  quoted,  93,  IGO,  244. 

Newton,  Sir  I.,  114,  130,  153. 

Neio  York  World,  quoted,  158     ' 

Non  causa,  118. 

Non  sequitur  (see  fallacies),  143. 

North  Anierlcau  Berleiv,  quoted, 
38. 

North,  Lord,  54,  84. 

Nullification,  8G. 

Number  of  arguments,  199;  of  in- 
stances, 199. 

Objections,  answer  to,  209. 

Observation,  45,  108. 

Omission  of  introduction,  3,  8 ; 
of  peroration,  4,  255. 

Ophelia,  174. 

Opponent,  fairness  to,  209. 

Oratory,  2,  251. 

Order,  climax,  21,  204;  natural, 
21, 193 ;  of  arguments,  200 ;  in  sci- 
ence, 137;  of  proofs,  19,  19;>; 
reasons  for,  201. 

Origin  of  Sjjecies,  75,  110. 

Ottolengui,  K.,  quoted,  05,  (iO. 

Outline,  defined,  17,  18;  effect  of, 
14;  Burke's,  19;  Webster's,  17- 
20. 

Overcoming  hostility,  (5-10,  22(). 

Pancoast,  11.,  quoted,  184. 
Parallel,  not,  l.''»5. 

Partition, 4,  14;  need  of,  194;  (iiiali- 
ties  of,  190. 


Parts  of  discourse,  4. 

Pascal,  B.,  185. 

Pasteur,  L.,G9,  153. 

Past  to  present,  128. 

Paul,  8,  9G. 

Pentateuch,  4. 

Perfect  induction,  119. 

Peroration,  argumentative,  25G ; 
care  in  composing,  2G2  ;  defined, 
255 ;  ijersuasive,  2G0 ;  purpose  of, 
2G0;  qualities,  262;  when 
omitted,  255. 

Personal  appeal,  218,  239 ;  introduc- 
tion, 8. 

Persuasion,  2,  214;  and  audience, 
214;  and  conviction,  214,  220; 
climax  in,  253;  defined,  214; 
field  of,  219;  in  Burke,  217;  in 
exordium,  223;  in  Huxley, 
214 ;  in  peroration,  238,  2G0 ;  in 
Webster,  21G;  method  of  234; 
need  of,  220;  place  of,  222,252; 
throughout  speech,  22G. 

Petitlo  prlacliyd,  97. 

Pierce  will  case,  139. 

Phelps,  Austin,  quoted,  14,  134, 
223,  2G3. 

Place  of  arguments,  190-200;  of 
persuasion,  222;  of  proposition, 
193;  of  refutation,  207. 

Plan,  combined,  IG ;  deductive,  15; 
defined.  12;  fullness  of,  IG;  in- 
ductive, 15;  need  of,  12;  pur- 
pose, 12. 

Plans,  Burke's,  17 ;  Webster's,  18. 

Policy  and  doctrine,  31. 

Political  writing,  72. 

I'opular  education,  120. 

Porter,  Judge,  quoted,  GG. 

Post  hoc,  121. 

Practice  and  theory,  2. 

Prejudice,  removing,  40. 

Premise,  3;  assumed,  99;  major 
and  nunor,  90,  151. 

Presentation  of  details,  244. 

Preparation  (see  introduction). 


410 


INDEX. 


Presumption,  29;  and  burden  of 
proof,  33 ;  case  of  no,  38 ;  change 
in,  39;  defined,  34;  favorable, 
35 ;  in  debate,  39 ;  shifting,  39. 

Presumptions  of  law,  37;  conchi- 
sive,  38 ;  force  of,  38. 

Priestly,  Jos.,  131. 

Principles,active,  222 ;  applied,  150 ; 
of  attention,  80;  of  induction, 
108;  of  plan,  12;  of  refutation, 
208. 

Probability,  antecedent,  124 ;  based 
on  fiction,  133;  in  common 
things,  137;  in  criminal  cases, 
137 ;  in  drama,  136 ;  in  example, 
150;  in  fiction,  133;  i)reponder- 
ance  of,  141 ;  strong,  174 ;  vary- 
ing force  of,  74. 

Progressive  tendency,  188. 

Prohibition,  99,  156,  238. 

Proof,  4,  26,  27 ;  and  evidence,  27 ; 
order  of,  193. 

Proportional  representation,  72. 

Proposition  argued,  4,  27;  char- 
acter of,  70;  defined,  26;  for 
preacher,  28;  in  debate,  29; 
need  of,  27 ;  negative,  33 ;  place 
of,  28,  193 ;  statement  of,  29, 194. 

Proverbs,  analogy  in,  163. 

Proving  too  much,  79. 

Qualities,  of  introduction,  6,  9, 
10;  of  peroration,  262;  of  plan, 
16 ;  of  witnesses,  44. 

Question,  begging  the,  97 ;  begging- 
epithets,  30,  100. 

QuiNTiLiAN,  quoted,  242. 

Radiant  heat,  75. 

Reasoning,  1,2;  chains  of,  96 ;  emi- 
grant, 144 ;  every  day,  4 ;  scien- 
tific, 111,  129;  universal,  2. 

Reasons  for  order,  201. 

Recapitulation,  205;  at  close  of 
period,  205;  in   peroration,  256. 

Recent  advances,  l'>. 


Eeductio  ad  absurdum,  78,  184. 

Reed,  T.  B.,  quoted,  163. 

Refutation,  defined,  206;  difficult, 
213 ;  dignified,  211 ;  methods  of, 
97,  210 ;  place  of,  207 ;  principles 
of,  208. 

Reid,  James,  quoted,  162. 

Reinforcement,  188. 

Relations,  resemblance  of,  158. 

Religion,  198. 

Removing  prejudice,  40. 

Representation,  proportional,  72 . 

Reputation  of  speaker,  242 ;  of  wit- 
ness, 45. 

Resemblance  as  basis,  146,  165. 

Reserved  force,  248,  252. 

Residues,  method  of,  83,  115. 

Robinson,  E.  G.,  quoted,  27. 

Robinson,  W.  F.,  quoted,  152,  177, 
179,  191,  241. 

Rosalind,  174. 

Rule  stated,  147. 

Rules  of  syllogism,  90. 

Rusk,  Governor,  250. 

Scheele,  131. 

Scientific  induction,  3,  111. 

Scientist's  arguments,  129. 

Scott,  W.,  47,  154. 

Sears,  L.,  quoted,  125,  191. 

Senses,  testimony  of,  42 ;  defective, 

45. 
Sequence,  13,  19,  190;  importance 

of,  191 ;  natural,  121. 
Seward,  W.  H.,  quoted,  185. 
Shakespeare,  48,  58,  86,  104,  174, 

215,  239,  243,  248,  253. 
Shape  of  the  earth,  187. 
Shaw,  Judge,  quoted,  64. 
Sherman,  John,  quoted,  79 
Shifting  presumption,  39. 
Ship  and  government,  163. 
Sedgwick,  A.,  94,  109,  113. 
Sign,  argument  from,  124,  173;  and 

antecedent     probability,      182 ; 

defined,  173;   failing,   177;   fal- 


IXBEX. 


411 


lacies  in,  180;  interpretation  of, 
177 ;  not  cause,  176 ;  single,  not 
enougli,  204 ;  succession  of,  187  ; 
varying  force  of,  177. 

Signs  of  authorship,  175. 

Silence,  argument  from,  58. 

Silver  bill,  4,  79. 

Simplicity  of  manner,  250 ;  of  style, 
251. 

Single  examples,  148,  204;  motives, 
238 ;  signs,  204. 

Skeleton,  14. 

Slight  matters,  179 ;  probability,  70. 

Smith,  Goldwin,  39. 

Smith  will  case,  51. 

Sophists'  tricks,  107. 

Source,  basis  of,  124. 

Sources  of  knowledge,  140. 

Speaker's  character,  241 ;  reputa- 
tion, 242 ;  advantage  of,  249. 

Specific,  value  of,  247. 

Speech  on  Conciliation,  17,  20,  23, 
24,  25,  82,  84,  127,  147,  194,  202, 
217,  227,  235. 

Speech  on  Mars'  Hill,  8. 

Spoken  discourse  (introductio)i). 

Statement,  affirmative,  33;  nega- 
tive, 33 ;  not  argument,  71 ;  of 
proposition,  29;  value  of  argu- 
ment, 197. 

Statesman  and  demagogue,  237 ; 
young,  156. 

Stevenson,  R.  L.,  133,  144. 

Story,  ^\ .  W.,  67. 

Strength  of  combination,  183. 

Stowe,  H.  B.,  135. 

Strong  probability,  74. 

Style  of  introduction,  11 ;  in  per- 
suasion, 251. 

Subject  of  argument,  27. 

Subordination,  13,  14,  20. 

Suction  pump,  184. 

Sully,  James,  quoted,  47. 

Summaries  (recapitulation),  205. 

Swift,  Dean,  56. 

Syllogism,  3,  4,  80 ;  illustrated,  91 ; 


in  law,  151 ;  kinds  of,  91 ;  logical, 
90 ;  rhetorical,  89 ;  suggested,  91 ; 
terms  and  rules,  90;  varying 
force,  91. 

Tait,  A.,  quoted,  75. 

Tell,  William,  4. 

Tendency,  i)rogressive,  188. 

Terms,  confusion  of,  102;  logica., 
27;  not  argued,  27;  of  syllogism, 
90;  rhetorical,  27. 

Testimonial  evidence,  44,  62,  70. 

Testimony,  4,  22,  42,  44,173;  con- 
current, 59 ;  contradictory,  67  ; 
expert,  49;  forced,  54;  inci- 
dental, 57 ;  inconsistent,  67 ; 
negative,  58;  of  senses  and 
consciousness,  42 ;  uncontra- 
dicted, 71 ;  unwilling,  53. 

Tests  of  reasoning,  3,  97,  117,  143, 
154,  180. 

Theory  and  practice,  2. 

Time  of  composing,  11. 

Too  few  instances,  118,  154 

Too  many  details,  246. 

Trade  unions,  119. 

Train  wreckers,  139. 

Transition,  23,24. 

Treatment  of  opponent,  209. 

Tricks  of  sophists,  107. 

Trustworthy  evidence,  43. 

Tynda     ,  John,  quoted,  153,  165. 

Undesigned  testimony,  55. 

Uniformity  of  nature,  117. 
Unwilling  testimony,  53. 
Universal  arguing,  4 ;  reasoning,  2. 
Use,  basis  of,  77. 
Uses  of  analogy,  166. 

Value  of  Character,  241. 

Vanderpool  case,  55,  98,  139,  188. 

Variety  in  method,  249 ;  of  meth- 
ods, 234. 

Varying  force,  37,  76,  145,  153,  166, 
177, 199. 


412 


INDEX. 


Vegetable  life  and  disea.se,  165. 
Verification,  3,  113,  184. 
Virtue  in  jiersuasion,  237,  241. 
Von  Hasselt,  117. 

Wales,  202. 

Walker,  Judge,  quoted,  68. 

Wallace,  A.  R.,  35. 

Watch  and  body,  160. 

Webster,  Daniel,  6,  9,  18,  19,  30, 
34,  46,  51,  52,  89,  116,  126,  183, 
194,  196,  205,  211,  215,  235,  238, 
243,  253,  260. 

Webster,  Daniel,  quoted,  7,  8, 9, 
36,  137,  168,  194,  196,  198,  216, 
227. 

Webster's  analogies,  165, 168 ;  an- 
tecedent iirobabilities,  125,  137 ; 
combinations,  184;  definitions, 
30;  deductions,  8;  hypotheses, 
116;  introductions,  6,  8,  9,  223; 
motives,  235;  order  of  argu- 
ments,    203;     partitions,     194; 


plans,  17,  19;  perorations,  237; 
persuasion,  216,  221,  223,  226, 
227;  recapitulations,  205,  256. 

Whately,  R.,  quoted,  58,  102,  144, 
158,  170,  189. 

Wharton,  Judge,  quoted,  26,  50, 
76. 

Whipple,  E.  P.,  quoted,  51. 

Whitefield,  G.,  221. 

White,  murder  trial,  9,  17,  20,  34, 
42,  46,  53,  84,  116,  126,  139,  141, 
150,  188,  194,  207,  236,  257. 

Witnesses,  beliefs  of,  46 ;  character 
of,  46;  credibility  of,  44;  cross- 
examination,  68;  discrediting, 
68;  interested  48;  qualities  of, 
44. 

Woman  suffrage,  23,  38. 

Writing,  political,  72 ;  and  speak- 
ing, 220. 

Written   discourse  (introduction). 

Young  statesmen,  156. 


The  Principles  of  Composition 

By  Henry  G.  Pearson.  Instructor  in  English  at 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  With 
an  Introduction  by  Arlo  Bates.  Cloth.  165  pages. 
Introduction   price,  50  cents. 

THIS  book  has  several  distinctive  merits  that  commend  it  to  such 
as  need  a  practical  guide  for  class  work.  It  begins  where  the 
student  must  begin,  with  the  consideration  of  the  com.position  as  a  whole. 
Paragraphs,  sentences,  w^ords,  etc.,  are  treated  later,  and  in  this  order. 
By  reversing  the  traditional  order  of  topics,  the  discussion  of  principles 
gains  in  clearness  and  compactness,  and  their  application  is  more  readily 
made.  Each  chapter  seeksto  effect  a  definite  practical  purpose,  and 
the  means  used  are  free  from  pettiness  and  pedantry. 

Subject  matter,  illustrative  examples,  topics  for  investigation,  have  all 
stood  the  test  of  use.  The  book  has  grown  in  the  class-room  in  res- 
ponse to  the  needs  of  an  alert  and  practical-minded  body  of  students 
to  whom  linguistic  study  does  not  appeal  as  an  end  in  itself.  Its  mas- 
tery insures  command  of  clear  and  forceful  English. 


The  Problem  of  Elementary 
Composition 

Suggestions  for  its  Solution.     By  Elizabeth   H. 
Spalding,  Instructor  in  English,  Pratt  Institute, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.     Cloth.      120   pages.     Introduc- 
tion price,  40  cents. 
AN  inspiring  and  practical  book,  that  lifts  the  task  of  teaching  Eng- 
lish out  of  the  pit  of  routine,  and  makes  it  appear  fresh,  attrac- 
tive and  of  vital  importance.      It  suggests  helpful  questions,  and  ways 
of  arousing  thought  and  fostering  sensibility  ;   it  also  unifies  work  in 
composition  with  that  in  other  studies,  especially  in  geography,  science, 
history  and  literature.      Teachers  in  primary  and  grammar  schools  will 
find  this  book  peculiarly  adapted  to  their  needs. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

The  Arden   Shakespeare.      The  greater  plays  in  their  literary  aspect,  each  with  intro- 
duction, interpretative  notes,  glossary,  and  essay  on  metre.     45  cts. 

MOUltOn'S    Literary   Study  of    the   Bible.      An  account  of  the  leading  forms  of 
literature  represented,  without  reference  to  theological  matters,     f  2.00. 

Moulton's  Four  Years  of  Novel-Reading,     a  reader's  guide.    50  cts. 
Hawthorne  and  Lemmon's  American  Literature.    A  manual  for  high  schQols 

and  academies.     $1.25. 

Meiklejohn's  History  of  English  Language  and  Literature.    For  high  schools 

and  colleges.     A  compact  and  reliable   statement  of  the  essentials.     90  cts. 

Hodgkins*  Studies  in  English  Literature.     Gives  full  lists  of  aids  for  laboratory 

method,  Scott,  Lamb,  Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  Byron,  Shelley,  Keats,  Macaulayi 
Dickens,  Thackeray,  Robert  Browning,  Mrs.  Browning,  Carlyle,  George  Eliot,  Tenny- 
son, Rossetti,  Arnold,  Ruskin,  Irving,  Bryant,  Hawthorne,  Longfellow,  Emerson, 
Whittier,  Holmes,  and  Lowell.  A  separate  pamphlet  on  each  author.  Price  5  cts.  each, 
or  per  hundred,  $3.00;  complete  in  cloth    ^i.oo. 

Scudder's  Shelley's  Prometheus  Unbound.     With  introduction  and  copious 

notes.     70  cts. 

George's  Wordsworth's  Prelude.      Annotated  for   high  school  and  college.     Never 
before  published  alone.     51.25. 

George's  Selections  from  Wordsworth.    i68  poems  chosen  with  a  view  to  illustrate 

the  growth  of  the  poet's  mind  and  art.     $1.50. 

George's  Wordsworth's  Prefaces  and  Essays  on  Poetry.     Contains  the  best  of 

Wordsworth's  prose.    60  cts. 
George's  Webster's  Speeches.      Nine  select  speeches  with  notes.     $1.50. 

George's  Burke's  American  Orations.    Cloth.    65  cts. 

George's   Select  Poems   of  Burns.      1 18  poems, -with  introduction,  notes  and  gloss- 
ary.   ;fi.oo. 

George's  Tennyson's  Princess.    With  introduction  and  notes.   45  cts. 

Corson's  Introduction  to  Browning.      A  guide  to  the  study  of  Browning's  Poetry. 
Also  has  33  poems  with  notes.     J^i.50. 

Corson's  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Shakespeare.    A  critical  study  of 

Shakespeare's  art,  with  examination  questions.     ^1.50. 
Cook's  Judith.      The  Old  English  epic  poem,  with  introduction,  translation,  glossary  and 
facsimile  page.     J1.60.     Students'  edition  without  translation.     35  cts. 

Cook's  The  Bible  and  English  Prose  Style.    Approaches  the  study  of  the   Bible 
from  the  literary  side.     60  cts. 

Simonds'  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt  and  his  Poems.     168  pages.    With  biography,  and 

critical  analysis  of  his  poems.     75  cts. 

flail's  Beowulf.      A  metrical  translation.     $1.00.     Students'  edition,     35  cts. 

Norton's  Heart  of  Oak  Books.      A  series  of  six  volumes  giving  selections  from  tha 
choicest  English  literdture. 

See  also  »ur  list  of  hooks  for  the  study  o/the  English  Langtta.ee. 


D.   C.  HEATH  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 

BOSTON,        NEW  YORK.        CHICAGO. 


Er^:  ""TCr  r  A  T^  A  T  r^nrrrrrlU. 


